In Your Arms
by spiffykay
Summary: Life’s back on track for Seth and Summer but what happens when distance pulls them apart the following summer? Sequel to “Doubts and Insecurities.”
1. The New Beginning

**Takes place 3 years after where Season 3 of "The OC" left off. (Sequel to "Doubts and Insecurities." Not _completely_ necessary to read before this story but definitely recommended.) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own or have any affiliation with The OC. And probably never will.**

**A/N: I'm back! With a sequel! Excited? Hope so!**

**Read, ENJOY, & review like it's your job.**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Awesome!" Seth slammed in his fist in the air. "Fucking awesome!"

It was April, Seth Cohen was twenty-one, and he was just offered an extended internship for the upcoming summer at Peabody & Sheehan, where he had been working at during his junior year of college attending Johnson & Wales University in Providence.

Not to mention they had decided to give him a pay raise for the summer - $17 an hour.

"Life is fucking awesome!" Seth shouted to a random passer-by as he grabbed his keys out of his suit's pocket and unlocked his car.

Seth blared the music (not caring that it was rap and that he hated it), letting the windows be rolled down, as he drove back to his apartment that he shared with his girlfriend, Summer.

Seth loved the month of April. And not just because of this job opportunity. But because everything good happened in April. Spring (his favorite season of the four he, which he finally got to experience when he went East) in Rhode Island began in April and nothing bad in Seth's life ever happened in April. In addition, he and Summer had always been a couple during this month – which couldn't be said for any other month. (Well, he was leaving out those three long weeks during April of senior year when he lied to Summer about getting into Brown, but he never counted those and tried to forget those memories of mistakes made long ago.)

The universe just happened to love the month of April. And so did Seth Cohen.

"Summer!" Seth bounded into the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

"I'm right here," Summer replied lazily from the couch, looking over at Seth. "What happened?"

Seth's face beamed as he strutted over to his girlfriend, loosening his tie as he walked. "Well… you're looking at the new summer assistant of the Secretary of Cases for Peabody & Sheehan." Seth fell onto the couch next to a lively and smiling Summer. "Who, _by the way_, gets a pay raise of seven dollars an hour."

"No, you didn't!" Summer squealed as she tackled Seth on the couch in a hug. "Cohen, that's like a real job!"

"A very low salary real job, but nonetheless a real job."

"Cohen," Summer pulled back, taking Seth's face in her hands, "We're college students. That salary is, like, hitting the jackpot!"

Seth leaned forward and kissed Summer's nose. "I know. And now we have to celebrate." Seth removed himself from Summer's grasp and stood up, clapping his hands together. "Where do you wanna go? I heard a little mumble one time about that fancy restaurant downtown – that French place… umm… what's it called?"

"_Pot au Feu_?" Summer stood up excitedly. "You really want to go there? It's fancy and expensive."

"I really want to take you there," Seth smiled. "Can you be ready in a half hour?"

"Half hour? Cohen, how long have known me?"

Seth smirked. "Right. I'll call and make reservations for in two hours."

Summer returned the smirk and walked over to Seth, standing on her tiptoes, kissing his lips lightly. "Congratulations, baby." Summer then ran off into the bedroom to begin getting ready.

Seth, still beaming, followed Summer into the bedroom a few seconds later and was pleasantly surprised when Summer was only clad in her bra and boy shorts.

"Cohen! I'm getting ready!"

Seth shut the door and then suddenly tackled her onto the bed, making noises into her neck as he attacked her. Summer laughed and tried, playfully, to push him off. "What happened to dinner reservations?"

Seth lifted his head from her neck and looked at her with a grin. "I'll make them for in three hours, instead."

Summer laughed as Seth resumed his attack on her neck replying, "Oh, Cohen… an extra hour? Please… more like ten minutes."

Seth lifted his head once again, raising his eyebrows. "Ten minutes? Ten minutes, Summer?" Seth began tickling her sides. "I'll show you ten minutes!"

"Cohen!" Summer squealed. "Okay! Okay! An hour!"

Seth stopped tickling her and began leaving kisses on her chin. "That's better."

Summer stopped giggling and flipped their bodies so she was on top, and Seth looked on suggestively as Summer spoke, "Yeah, it is better." Summer finally let their lips collide as they tangled themselves in their already messy bed of sheets.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Summer stood in awe outside the restaurant. She hadn't been to a fancy and over-top expensive restaurant since her high school days in California. Sure, Seth had suggested for their various anniversaries or special occasions to go out to for dinner at a place like this but Summer always declined, knowing with their rent payments and the other necessities needed for living on their own made it impossible for them to afford any such place.

With Seth's new pay raise, Summer wasn't about to turn down the offer to slip into a lavish evening dress to go to Providence's most well-known, swanky restaurant.

"Cohen, this is so exciting!" Summer squealed as she grabbed onto his arm, walking into the restaurant. "I've wanted to come here for _forever_!"

"But you made me cancel our reservations I made here this past Valentine's Day."

"That's because having some place to live is more important than having a beyond amazing five-course meal at a restaurant like this," Summer smiled as Seth looked down at her sincerely.

"I would have figured out a way to pay for it, you know. And I wouldn't have let you live on the streets." Seth told her, squeezing her hand as Summer felt herself melting on the spot. Seth diverted his attention away from Summer for a second and spoke to the host. "Cohen. Reservations for 8."

Summer smiled. Of course he would have figured something out. And of course he would never let her live on the streets.

She just felt bad, that's all.

"I know, baby," Summer sighed. "But we're here now so it actually works out wonderfully."

"Right this way," the host interrupted them, guiding them through the crowded and very decorated restaurant.

"I love you. But I'm guessing you know that, right?" Seth smirked, causing Summer to erupt in quiet giggles.

"Yeah, I do. And I love you."

"Well, _of course_ I know that. Because everyone knows Summer Roberts cannot resist the Seth Cohen charm."

"You sure are getting much cockier these days."

"Not cocky. Just confident," Seth replied casually as they reached their table. Seth held out Summer's chair and ushered for her to sit down. "My lady."

Summer blushed. "Stop being cheesy."

"I'm trying to be a gentleman." Seth told her, settling into his own chair. "No more chivalry?"

Summer grinned. "Not here. You can worship me later."

"Now who's the cocky one?"

Summer laughed over her menu as Seth did the same.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Seth and Summer were barely able to make it back into their apartment before they were flinging clothes off of their bodies, pushing each other into their bedroom, trying tactfully never to let their lips lose touch.

"Seth…" Summer grunted as she got caught in the bottom of her dress. "Seth, I can't get it off."

Seth removed his hold on her upper arm and pulled away to look at her body's form. Summer's green, sparkling dress was draped over one arm and tangled under only one leg – the other leg exposing her silky skin and her matching green panties.

He really couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, Sum," Seth laughed as Summer fell onto the bedroom floor trying to find her way out of her dress. "I really love you."

"Then help me get this off," Summer groaned having even more difficulty with the dress.

Seth fell down to the floor next to her and instead of helping her with her dress, he continued undressing himself until he was only clad in boxers.

"What are you doing?" Summer asked incredulously. "You are supposed to be helping me."

Seth continued laughing but began kissing her neck as well, letting his tongue massage over her skin. "I am helping you," he murmured. "I was saving you work by ridding my own clothes myself."

"That's not the kind of work I wanted help with," Summer sighed as she tilted her head, giving Seth better access to her neck.

Summer decidedly forgot about getting out of the dress and unceremoniously lay completely on the floor. "Seth…"

"Still need help with the dress?" Seth raised his eyebrows seductively as Summer snaked her arm around his neck, pulling him fully down on the floor on top of her.

"Think we can do it without being naked?" Summer breathed heavily as Seth made his way back to her neck.

"Oohhh, like we're horny, angst-ridden teenagers who can't seem to find anymore than five minutes of alone time so we have to do it quickly, never minding with the ridding of such frivolous things like clothes?"

Summer laughed as Seth let his dimples show, smiling widely at her. "Yeah, like that."

"Yeah, I'm all for that."

Summer smiled, pulling him back down on top of her. "Good. So am I."

"Sum…?" Seth mumbled into her mouth.

"Yeah?"

"I really love floor sex."

"Me too."

As Seth and Summer resumed their heated kissing, it only took a nanosecond before they heard a shout – that actually sounded more like a whine – coming from the bathroom.

"Please, if there is a God, do _not_ have sex on the floor outside of the bathroom!"

Seth and Summer pulled apart instantly as Summer scrambled to try and fix her dress and Seth stood up, still in only his boxers.

Seth started walking towards the bathroom, hesitantly. "Ryan? Was that you?"

"Yes, it's me but don't open this door if -" Seth opened the door revealing a distraught looking Ryan. "Oh, you're not naked."

Seth leaned against the doorframe, annoyed. "No. You kind of stopped that with your outburst. Wait. Why the hell are you in my bathroom? And not, like, in your bathroom in Berkeley?"

"I came to visit you," Ryan told him as he began to walk out of the bathroom, then turning to Seth whispering, "Summer's not running around naked is she?"

"No, Ryan I'm not." Summer appeared from the bedroom with her dress back in place but her hair completely tousled. "What are you doing here?"

"And why didn't you make a regular entrance, like, say, oh I don't know – through the front door?!" Seth exclaimed.

"It was supposed to be a surprise. Didn't know you guys got straight to it as soon as you walked in the door."

"We don't," Summer replied and then, after receiving a raised brow from Ryan, added, "Usually."

"Tonight was special," Seth continued to explain as Ryan grunted. "I got a job for the summer. Here in Providence. And it pays seventeen dollars an hour."

"Seventeen – jeez, dude, that's awesome!" Ryan slapped Seth on the back as he walked towards the living room, being followed closely by both Seth and Summer.

"Yeah, so we went out to celebrate."

"Evidently," Ryan snorted.

"Anyway, you still haven't told us why you're here."

"Not happy to see your brother?"

"Not when I was about to get some," Seth groaned, which received a laugh from Ryan but a smack on his chest from Summer. "Ow, woman. Just speaking the truth."

Summer ignored Seth and turned her attention back towards Ryan. "Did something happen?"

"Not really." Ryan settled onto the couch.

"So you were just stopping by – _3000 miles_ around the corner – for a visit?"

"Sort of."

"Full of words tonight, aren't you man?" Seth joked.

"Jack's funeral is in Boston tomorrow. I thought I could crash here for a few nights," Ryan replied nonchalantly, ignoring Seth's joke.

"Who's Jack?" Summer questioned.

"My dad."

Seth and Summer looked at each other, sending silent questions between their eyes, before looking back at Ryan and settling themselves on the couch next to him.

"Oh. Well, man, you know you can crash here for as long as you'd like."

"Yeah," Ryan laid back into the couch. "Lana should be here tomorrow morning. She had an exam today that she couldn't miss."

Both Seth and Summer shook their heads silently.

"You both can just go do whatever you both were about to do earlier. I just didn't want to be stuck in the bathroom hearing it."

"Nope. Pretty sure a death ruins the mood," Seth responded gaining another smack to the chest from Summer. "Jesus, Summer! Can you lay off with the abuse?"

"Are you okay?" Summer questioned Ryan; ignoring Seth's whines and placing her hand comfortingly on Ryan's shoulder.

"Yeah. Really I'm fine. It's just weird. I'm going to a funeral for a guy I didn't even know."

"I know, sweetie," Summer reassured him. "Do you want us to come with you tomorrow?"

"No, Lana will be here so that's fine. Really, you two just go to bed. I'll camp out here on the couch."

Seth began to get up as Summer followed. Seth abruptly stopped and turned back towards Ryan. "By the way, how did you get in here?"

"You left the spare key underneath the welcome mat. Not exactly in the last place people – or robbers – will look, Seth."

"Right. I've been meaning to move that. Night, man."

"Night."

Summer pulled Seth into the bedroom, wanting to leave Ryan with a little peace and quiet, and shut the door behind them.

"How about round two?" Seth wiggled his eyebrows, ignoring the scene that has just taken place in their living room.

Summer stared at him shocked. "Are you kidding? Ryan just lost his father and you want to have sex? Are you inhuman?"

"I was just trying to lighten the mood…" Seth whispered as he climbed into bed slowly, followed by a mumbling, incoherent Summer. "Night, love."

Summer continued mumbling and flipped on her side, letting her back face towards Seth.

Seth sighed and closed his eyes, muttering to himself, "Definitely not how I thought tonight was going to end."

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**A/N: So what did you think? Let me know!**


	2. The Amazing Opportunity

**Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.**

**A/N: Sorry it took a little longer for this chapter to come out. The site's been acting strange lately and I've been busy with the end of classes and such that my schedule has been crazy. Also, I got a little sidetracked with a oneshot I started and am currently trying to complete. That should be up in a few days so look out for that.**

**Sorry to those reviewers I didn't reply to – the site didn't send a review alert to my email so that's why. But I still appreciated the review!**

**As for this chapter – read, _enjoy!_, and review!**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Lana had arrived early the next morning, much to the delight of both Ryan and Summer. Seth had been feeling a bit indifferent because of his lack of sleep, seeing as Summer decided to kick him numerous times throughout the night, kneeing him in the thigh, shin, and amazingly and anatomically impossibly enough, the chest.

Summer really had rage issues. And Seth truly didn't know what to do about getting himself out of this mess.

Ryan and Lana had left only minutes before, stating that they were just going to get a hotel in Boston the next night and that he'd see Seth and Summer hopefully later on in the summer. Summer had acted casual and sad to see them go, but immediately turned defensive and angry at Seth after they left. Seth had tried to talk to her as she began storming out the door, to put himself back on the good list, but Summer was not having any of it.

"Do not try sneaking your way out of this one, _ass_. Ryan lost his father and all you could think of was the fastest way to get off!"

Summer slammed the door after that statement and Seth couldn't help but feel a little relieved to have a break from Summer's rage.

It wasn't a matter of him "wanting to get off," as Summer so nicely put it. It was a matter of the fact that Ryan didn't even seem to care too much about losing his father so why should he? Ryan had seemed perfectly fine the night before, not wallowing or agonizing over the death of his father, rather finding it kind of ridiculous he was going to the funeral in the first place.

Plus, like Seth even _knew_ how to handle tragedy. Case in point: when Marissa had died, he had suggested playing Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young" at her funeral's reception and even played a minute of it against everyone's wishes, dancing and singing along, before Kirsten came rushing out, stopping the music and scowling at her son.

So yeah, he shouldn't be held accountable for trying to poke fun at a death.

Apparently Summer wasn't on the same wavelength.

Regardless of whatever Summer was thinking or how Ryan was feeling, Seth trudged over to the bathroom and began getting ready for the day. He only had one last day of classes before finals began and then soon enough the summer would be upon them and Summer would get over her haughty attitude and they would just be happy.

Because if anything else, Seth and Summer had been immensely happy for the past year.

Moving into the Providence apartment and living together for the second time had been probably the best idea for their relationship to date. Seth had been really nervous at first, thinking Summer would react the same way she had in LA and that some other bimbo neighbor would come between them but they were in luck. Nothing bad happened. Everything worked out. They were happy, fulfilled, and successful.

And that was _so_ not a California feature.

That was a Rhode Island feature. One that Seth liked very much.

Seth had mentioned to Summer that the reason everything had been going just swimmingly was because they were on the East coast and not the West coast. That they were far away from anything and everything that thrived on drama. He stated that people over on the East coast never cared about brainless things like drama, opting more for the intelligent aspects of life including caring about the environment, politics, and world peace.

Summer had replied with an over resounding, "You've got to be kidding me" and laughed, kissing Seth's cheek.

In many cases when they lived in California, Summer would have smacked him and told him to stop over thinking such stupid ideas.

So yeah, they were happy.

They never really fought too much anymore either. Of course there was bantering and bickering – they wouldn't be Seth and Summer without it – but there were never any fights that lasted longer than a day. They were always able to talk things out and find compromises – something that neither of them had been familiar with growing up in Newport Beach. Seth and Summer genuinely loved spending time together and hardly ever got sick of each other, instead missing the other if they hadn't seen each other all day.

They were becoming one of those sickening, fluffy-all-the-time couples that Seth had always promised Summer they would never become. But Seth loved it. And by the looks of things, Summer did too.

So, Seth concluded walking out of the bathroom towards the front door to head to his last class of his junior year in college, this summer was going to go much better than the previous one.

And that was about 99.9 a fact.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summer shouldn't have been so angry with Seth. She knew that. She knew Seth had these weird and dysfunctional ways of helping people deal with grief. Which, truth be told, didn't help anyone feel better. In fact, they probably made the people on the receiving end feel worse.

But it was one of Seth's character flaws that she found so endearing and that everyone else found annoying.

She just couldn't help it. She loved Seth Cohen – flaws and all.

At this thought, Summer began smiling as she made her way to her Magazine Intermediate Editing class and felt her phone vibrating in her purse.

Smiling broadly, she flipped it open. "Hey, baby."

"Oh, so I don't have to apologize?" Seth's voice flooded Summer's ear.

"Well, it would help matters."

"I'm sorry. I apologize _very_ sincerely. I am currently groveling for your forgiveness at me being such an insensitive jerk."

Summer laughed. "You're not groveling. I can hear your car making noises in the background."

"It's the thought that counts."

Summer giggled again. "I shouldn't have gotten that mad. It's just… can't you try and act like a normal person when there's a serious matter to deal with?"

"Ryan didn't seem like he was suffering too much when he and Lana were making out in our living room this morning," Seth sneered.

"I know. I'm just aggravated."

"At me? Cause I seriously will pull the car over and grovel on the ground if you want me to."

"No," Summer smiled into the phone, "Not at you. It's just… well… you got this awesome job and I'm so excited for you but I only have a week left before I'm out of school and unemployed."

Seth sighed. He knew Summer's job on campus at the Writing Tutor Center was going to end once the school year ended and that she had been looking for another internship for the summer in the Providence area but couldn't seem to find one. He also knew that Summer hated just sitting around, doing nothing, and if she had to spend her summer like that and be completely miserable she'd inevitably make him miserable too. Then his plan for the best summer ever wouldn't exactly work.

"You'll find something," Seth reassured her.

"Yeah…" Summer answered sadly. "Well, I'm going into my next class now so I'll talk to you tonight, okay?"

"Well, actually I was planning on going out with some of the guys from the store for awhile..."

"You planned something for tonight because you thought I'd still be mad at you," Summer stated rhetorically, laughing.

Seth laughed too. "Yeah. Kind of."

"See?" Summer continued smiling. "You don't know me as well as you think, Mr. Cohen."

"How about you let me get to know you a bit more tonight when I end the night with the guys early and come home to you?" Seth asked flirtatiously.

"That might work," Summer blushed. "But right now I really have to go. I love you."

"Love you more."

"Stop being cheesy."

"Okay, sugarplum."

"Bye!" Summer laughed as she flipped her phone shut and entered the classroom.

"Summer?" her professor, Dr. Kollete, interrupted Summer's wandering thoughts before she was given a chance to sit down.

"Yes?"

"Do you think I can have a word with you after class in my office? I promise I won't keep you too long," her professor smiled.

"Umm… sure." Summer replied uneasily.

"Great."

Summer sat back in her seat befuddled as someone leaned over and whispered to her, "Last day of class and you get in trouble. That's gotta suck."

Summer tried to ignore the random person's laughs as she concentrated on opening up her notebook to prepare for class, not focusing on her meeting with her professor afterwards.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hi, Summer. Come on in," her Magazine Intermediate Editing professor, Dr. Kollete, welcomed her.

"Thanks," Summer replied as she took a seat in one of the three seats in Dr. Kollete's office.

To be completely truthful, Summer had not a clue what she was doing here. She thought she was doing well in class. In fact, she thought she had a solid A grade. And it was by far one of her best classes and she loved it more than any of her other classes combined. So she didn't really think she was in trouble. Unless she forgot to acknowledge a previous author in one of her past papers.

Oh God, did she plagiarize? Because, yeah… that could be a problem. A huge problem. One that would most definitely get her kicked out of college where she would be entirely screwed, thus making it even more impossible for her to get an internship for the fast-approaching summer.

Which, up until this point, had certainly been her most worrisome problem.

Now that she was getting kicked out of school, maybe she should be thinking about applying at McDonald's fast food chains.

Dr. Kollete – clearly seeing the anxiety etching across Summer's face with each passing second – spoke again. "You probably want to know why I asked you here."

Summer nodded her head wordlessly.

"Well, I don't know if you remember – most of my students don't seeing as it was the first day of school and I don't mention it at all through the rest of the semester – but at the end of each spring semester I ask the two students with the highest grades to accompany me to New York. And you, Summer, with a 99.3 average in my Editing class, are my most accomplished and talented student this semester."

Summer's face turned from a frown to a beam at this recollection. She didn't have to continue looking for a summer internship because she had just landed the dream job of most of her journalism major peers. She and Seth were going to be able to do anything they wanted for the summer in jobs that they'd love. Money wasn't going to be an issue this time around. Instead, maybe they could start a joint bank account they had been talking about lately to prepare themselves for life together after college.

But wasn't there something else to this that she was forgetting?

_New York_.

Yeah, that caused a few problems. Seeing as New York was clearly not the same state as Rhode Island.

"New York?" Summer questioned Dr. Kollete. "For how long?"

"I'll be leaving next week after I finish tallying up all the grades for my classes and then we stay until a week before school begins again in September."

"So for almost four months I'll be living in New York?"

"Working, eating, breathing like a Big Apple native," Dr. Kollete smiled broadly, then continuing, "It's basically a job that consists of most of what we've been doing in class – editing magazine articles and researching outside of the office to make sure everything is factual. You'll have your own tiny field trips to go on to make sure all the facts are straight which, according to my past interns, is the best way they were able to learn about the city. It pays pretty well – fifteen dollars an hour – but you'll still probably have to find a roommate because New York apartments don't come cheap. I know it's soon but if you don't have someone willing to move with you for the summer out there, the other intern, Matt Ahern – he's in the other Editing class I teach -, had mentioned he needs to find a roommate."

"I don't know," Summer replied slowly.

"Oh. Well, when you find out just give Matt a call. Here's the number I contacted him through -"

"No," Summer interrupted. "I mean, I don't know if I can take the internship."

Dr. Kollete looked at Summer bewildered. It was obvious to Summer that Dr. Kollete had not experienced many turn-downs on the job offer. "You don't want the internship?"

"No, I mean, yes, yes I do. It's just… I need to talk to my boyfriend about it. We were planning on living here in Providence for the summer."

"I understand," Dr. Kollete nodded sympathetically. "But I can only give you a day to figure it out. If I don't hear back from you at this time tomorrow I'll have to immediately go to the next student with the highest grade."

Summer nodded as she stood up, Dr. Kollete following her action, and both of the women stood shaking hands. "Thank you, Dr. Kollete. I really appreciate this opportunity."

Dr. Kollete nodded again as Summer turned, starting to open the door to the office. Before she could fully make her way out of the door, Dr. Kollete spoke up again.

"Summer," Dr. Kollete broke the silence as Summer turned her head back to her professor. "This is an amazing opportunity. Most of my junior year students who take this internship are given many job offers through one of the hundreds of magazine companies we collaborate with. This internship could determine your life and career after college."

Summer nodded again. "I'll get back to you tomorrow."

Dr. Kollete smiled and sat down at her desk as Summer walked out of the office.

Summer walked out of the building and stood against the railing as other students made their way around her. She sighed as she took out her phone and pressed her speed dial number for Seth. Not reaching him, realizing he was probably in class, she opted for his voicemail. "Hey, it's me. Umm… I was just wondering if you could cancel your plans with the guys tonight. I was hoping we could talk. So… yeah… give me a call and let me know. I love you. Bye."

Summer shut her phone and walked over to the closest bench, collapsing onto it and sighing heavily.

When did growing up become so complicated?


	3. The Tough Decision

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Still. Probably forever.**

**A/N: I'm in the midst of finals time. And I'm heading to New Orleans soon with Habitat for Humanity to build a house. So updates are probably going to be far and few for the next month. Hope you all understand.**

**Also, sorry I wasn't able to reply to all your reviews. It was either post another chapter now without replying to the reviews or reply and post another chapter in a week or two. Hope you guys think I made the right decision.**

**And I wrote a oneshot about two weeks ago called "Reunion." If you haven't read it and reviewed, please do!**

**Anyway – read, enjoy!, and review! (Please?)**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Hey, I got your call. What's going on?" Seth asked as he came into the apartment, seeing Summer sitting on the couch with her legs up against her chest and her arms surrounding them.

"Did you cancel your plans?"

"Yeah, of course I did. Sum, what's wrong?" Seth sat down on the couch next to Summer as he brought his arm to wrap around her body and she leaned into him. Summer began sniffling and Seth made eye contact with her again. "Hey, really, what's wrong? And if you're about to break up with me again because you don't think I'm happy then I need you to know I'm really, really happy." Seth smiled as he kissed Summer's nose.

"No, I'm definitely not breaking up with you," Summer returned the smile. "And I'm really, really happy with you too."

"Good. Because there really isn't enough fluff and cheese in our relationship so I just wanted to put it out there."

Summer released her grasp around her legs and brought one of her arms to swat him lightly. "Cohen, come on."

Seth held her closer to him, kissing her cheek. "Now seriously Sum, why did I have to cancel my _oh so _important comic book and video game plans with the guys?"

At first Summer smirked and then quickly her smile faded as she looked back up into Seth's brown orbs. "I got an internship for the summer."

"Summer, that's great!" Seth turned on the couch, planting a quick kiss on her lips. "Why are you upset? That bad of pay? Or is it the hours? Cause I'm sure we can work it out. We can have sex at three am instead of midnight if that's really going to be the problem. No need to get upset over it. I know how much you'd miss it." Seth winked.

Summer swatted him playfully again. "No, _ass_, the pay's great. Fifteen dollars an hour. And the hours don't really fluctuate from the normal nine to five. At least I don't think they do."

"So then what's the problem? Why so gloomy?" Seth asked, smiling. "Looks to me that we've got it made in the shade for the summer of '09."

"The job is in New York City."

Seth pulled back, slowly reacting. "What?"

"The internship I was offered for the summer is in New York City. If I take it I'd be leaving next week."

"Well, umm… I guess that kind of is a problem."

"Yeah," Summer replied sadly.

"Don't worry," Seth stood up, stroking Summer's arm comfortingly as he did. "I'm sure you can find another job around here. It probably won't be as good of pay but we'll be okay. You want some spaghetti?" Summer's jaw dropped open as Seth walked into the kitchen.

"Excuse me?"

"It's okay, Summer. You'll figure something else out."

Anger was increasingly starting to rise in Summer's chest. "What makes you think I _want_ to figure something else out?"

"Well, I know you don't _want_ to figure anything out, but obviously you kind of have to."

Summer got up and walked over to the kitchen where Seth was starting to boil some water in a pan over the stove. "_Obviously_?"

"Yeah," Seth nodded, turning to take a quick glance at Summer's angry stance before turning back to the pan, still continuing to talk. "I mean, I can't leave my job because then I'd be screwed in the fall for work and we wouldn't be able to pay for the apartment. And secondly, if you remember, the landlord told us we had to stay in the apartment for a year to have it in the fall. That includes not leaving for the summer – hence the reason we decided to stay in Providence this summer and not go back to LA in the first place."

"I know all of that."

"Okay, well, you'll find another job."

"No."

Seth turned around, taking his eyes off of the boiling water. "No?"

"Why do I have to do what you want to do? This is a huge opportunity for me. I can't just pass it up because we'll lose the apartment."

"It's also about my job," Seth told her.

"And what? My job isn't as important as yours?"

"Summer…"

"No, I want to take this job, Seth. I _need_ to take this job."

"You don't _need_ to. My salary would cover us for the summer months as long as you get some kind of job. Maybe a retail one if you can't get anything else."

Summer closed her eyes tightly and put her hand on her head. "Seth! No! I can't depend on you! I need to take this job!"

Seth turned back towards the stove. "Okay, then."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, if you want the job then take it. I can't tell you you can't," Seth walked out towards the living room again. "I'm gonna try meeting up with the guys. There's extra spaghetti sauce in the refrigerator so you don't have to open a new glass of it."

"Cohen, we need to talk about this. I told my professor I'd give her an answer by tomorrow."

Seth opened the door, holding his keys and lightweight jacket in one hand. "It seems to me you've already made your decision."

"Cohen…"

Seth shut the door as Summer raced over and opened the door, shouting after him. "Seth, I'm serious!"

"So am I, Summer," Seth answered as he unlocked his car door. "Go to New York. Have fun. I'll see you in September."

"Seth!" Summer yelled after him, but it was no use as Seth drove out of the parking space and sped down the street.

Summer turned on her heels back into the apartment and returned to the kitchen, pouring out the boiling water into the sink and turning off the stove.

Suddenly she wasn't so hungry.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why did Summer have to be so gung-ho about this job, Seth asked himself when he drove through the streets of Providence towards his best friend's house. It wasn't like she couldn't get another one, oh, say, three hours closer to him. She had a terrific resume. And plus, many businesses don't even start hiring interns until June so she still had another couple of weeks.

Did she really want to get away from him that badly? Did she really want to just throw their plans out the window just because she was offered this beyond amazing opportunity in New York City to work for her professor?

Like he would do that if he was given the chance. If the job he had now was located in New York he would have turned it down immediately, knowing he couldn't leave Summer for nearly four months or abandon their apartment.

And how did she think he was going to react? Just be happy and ecstatic that she got this job? That he was just going to jump for joy at the mention of her living three hours away from him for almost four months?

It's not like he could just up and go with her. He had his own job and he had to pay for their apartment, their living expenses. In addition, he knew he couldn't leave the apartment because they wouldn't get it back and their apartment was located in one of the best neighborhoods with the best neighbors with the best rent. He couldn't just forget all of his responsibilities.

But for some reason Summer thought her skipping out to New York for the summer while he stayed in Providence sulking was a terrific opportunity.

Wasn't first semester during their freshman year hard enough? Did she really want to go through the suffering of being apart all over again?

Seth grunted in his car as he turned up the radio and sped down the streets.

Sometimes he really hated having to work for money instead of everything being handed to him. Sometimes he hated that he didn't live under his parent's roof anymore where no rent was needed.

Sometimes he just hated growing up.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seth knocked roughly multiple times on his fellow comic book and video game loving best friend, Nick's, door.

"Dude, I heard the first knock. You don't need to slam your fist through my door," Nick opened up the door laughing.

"I don't even know why the fuck I do shit like this anymore. It's like I'm working and working for absolutely no pay off," Seth ignored Nick's snarky comment as he walked through the door.

"I thought you got a raise?" Nick questioned.

"Not the job – Summer."

Nick laughed. "Summer? Man, 'no pay off?' Way to exaggerate."

Seth walked into Nick's apartment and saw Nick's girlfriend, Sherrie, sitting on the couch and waved towards her, still while carrying on a conversation with Nick. "I'm not exaggerating."

"Right. Just like you weren't exaggerating when you said you'd throw yourself off a cliff if the new Superman movie was sold out on opening day," Nick scoffed.

"Completely different," Seth rummaged through Nick's refrigerator grabbing a Coke can. "This is about Summer."

"Okay. Well. How about we sit on the couch and you tell me exactly word for word what happened and then repeat the story a few times over until you feel comfortable enough to just head back to your own apartment and drink your own pop and apologize to Summer," Nick told Seth sarcastically, playing out in his own head what he knew would inevitably happen.

"It's called soda."

Nick rolled his eyes at Seth's useless comment as he and Seth settled onto the couch next to Sherrie.

Seth sighed and then glanced over to Sherrie. "You don't mind?"

"Not at all. I'm a sucker for drama," Sherrie smiled and settled further into the couch to make herself comfortable.

"Well, first off, Summer sucks."

"The season or the person?" Nick questioned.

"In this case – both."

"Oh."

Seth began his rant in full swing. "So it turns out Summer – the person – doesn't care that her new internship would have her living in New York City for the summer – the season – and that I probably won't see her, in, oh, four months. She's being a spoiled little brat making everything about what she wants and what not. Like, okay, we already decided we were gonna stay in Providence for the summer. I have an internship with Peabody & Sheehan and also we said we were gonna keep the apartment so we could stay there into the fall. We already had plans. Solid, non-changing plans. And then all of a sudden she wants to up and move to New York. Next week. I mean, way to spring things on me, Summer!"

"Dude, she's not here," Nick replied deadpanned.

"I know that. I'm just frustrated. It's like she works to find problems for us."

Sherrie smirked. "I'm pretty sure she's not intending to do that."

"Oh, really, well explain all of this then."

"It's a good opportunity. It could help her out next year when she needs to get a full-time, year-round job," Sherrie tried to help while Nick sat back, rolling his eyes at the conversation.

"Yeah, well, I'm _pretty sure_ we never talked about moving to New York. And I'm definitely sure I hate that city more than I hate Newport Beach, California. And I know you don't know me that well but I _really_ hate Newport Beach, California."

"It doesn't mean you have to move to New York. It just means it's something else to put on her resume," Sherrie concluded.

"Well, aren't you just Ms. Perky Optimistic," Seth grunted.

Nick cut in. "Don't be an ass, man. Sherrie's just trying to help."

"Yeah, yeah…" Seth answered annoyingly as he stood up from the couch, heading back to the door. "Just never mind. I'm going."

"Seth, dude, you don't have to leave."

"Actually I think it's exactly what I have to do right now," Seth opened the door and then shut it behind him, heading back out to his car to drive around aimlessly.


	4. The City That Never Sleeps

**Disclaimer: No, one of my Christmas presents was _not _the ownership of The OC but it was a nice gift idea all the same.**

**A/N: So I'm back from New Orleans fresh off building a house and quite happy with the break I have for the next four weeks. That means I'll be posting regularly again. (Good news, I hope?) But I'm also wondering if people are already bored with this story. I've noticed a definite dwindle in the reviews and I just wanted to know if people still want me to write this. If I don't hear from a lot of you I'll probably just stop. But let me know – because I really do have some big plans for this story if you guys want me to continue! **

**All right – it's all up to you guys now. Tell me what you think. Read. Enjoy! And please review!**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Summer was starting to get worried now. Her anger had died down about fifteen minutes after Seth had up and left and she realized she shouldn't have gotten mad at him for believing she'd give up the job. It did make perfect sense for her to give it up – Seth already had one with a much higher salary to take care of them both and they had strictly decided on staying in Providence so they could keep their apartment – the one they had grown to love.

She shouldn't have fought with him and she should have rationalized with him instead of flipping off the handle at his assumption that she would turn down the job offer.

Especially since it was nearly midnight and Seth wasn't back yet and Summer had a final tomorrow at eleven am.

She and Seth sure did know how to inappropriately time their fights out.

Summer had tried calling Seth numerous times but he didn't answer. She knew he was pissed but really, did he have to ignore her and make her worry for almost six hours?

"Seth, it's me again. I really just want to know where you are. Even if you don't want to talk to me just send me a text or something. I want to make sure you're okay. I won't take the job if you really don't want me to. Cohen, I love you. Please come home. Bye."

Summer shut her phone after leaving her ninth voicemail and just stared into the darkness in front of her. She opened up her phone again and decided to call Nick. Why she hadn't tried Nick earlier and instead opted to call almost every other friend of Seth's, she couldn't figure out but she found his number and dialed it anyway.

"Why hey there Summer," Nick greeted her. "Has Seth calmed the fuck down now?"

"Seth was there?" Summer asked panicky. "Is he still there?"

"What? No, he left, like, five hours ago. You don't know where he is?"

"No. We got into an argument – which I'm assuming you already know about – and he hasn't been back since and he's not answering his phone. Nick, I don't know if he's all right. He never leaves for hours like this."

"Summer, calm down. I'm sure he's fine. I'm gonna try calling him – he probably just needed to blow off some steam."

"Yeah… yeah…" Summer responded absentmindedly.

Nick tried to reassure her. "Don't worry, Summer."

"Okay… yeah… I won't."

"Seriously, Seth's fine."

"I know that. Just give me a call if you get a hold of him, okay?" Summer reacted, worry still evident in her voice.

"You know I will."

Nick hung up and looked over at Sherrie, who had woken up at the sound of her boyfriend's phone.

"Summer doesn't know where Seth is?"

"No, I'm gonna go out to the living room and try making a few calls to find out where he is. Chances are if he's not answering Summer's phone calls he sure as hell won't answer mine."

Nick sighed and got out of bed, pressing buttons on his phone. "Out of all nights Seth decides to disappear, the night before my nine am organic chem final has to be it."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seth wandered up and down the streets, forgetting which parking garage he had decided to park his car.

He never did anything this spontaneous. He never just got up and drove three hours into downtown Manhattan, parked his car, and then went to the closest, non-sleaziest bar he could find to have a few drinks. Especially not when he had an important final that was imperative for his major the very next afternoon.

Seth felt a vibrating in his pocket as he stumbled over the curb, crossing 46th street. He reached down, and looked at it, noticing he had twenty-three missed calls.

"Whoa. I'm Mr. Popular today!" Seth shouted a little loudly, getting a few awkward glances from random passer-bys.

It was then that he noticed that twenty of them were from Summer.

"Shit! Summer!"

Seth flipped open his phone, pressing down her speed dial imbedded in his phone, only letting it ring once before Summer's voice boomed through the small device and into his ear.

"Where are you? It's nearly one in the morning!"

"Summer! You'll never guess where I am!"

"I don't want to guess! I want you to come back home!"

"I'm in Manhattan! And this place is dirty. I really don't want you to live here," Seth told her as he tripped up onto another curb.

"You're in New York? Cohen, _please_ tell me you are not in New York," Summer sighed angrily into the phone.

"I'm in New York, baby!" Seth shouted.

"And you're drunk, aren't you?"

"No. No. I'm not."

"Seth, I can hear you slurring," Summer retorted, deadpanned.

"Okay, so a little."

"Cohen, you have a final tomorrow. I have a final tomorrow. What the hell are you doing?"

"Summer, I don't want you to come to New York. It's disgusting. And the people here are mean and rude and I just don't think it's friendly. You wouldn't like it here. I swear. I came here to check it out for you and it's just how I remembered. Ugly."

Summer tried to calm down a bit. "Baby, I'd be okay in New York."

"No. No. Not without me. And I can't go so I can't make sure you'd be okay so you can't go. You have to stay with me. This place is gross. And way too big. I mean, I can't even find my car. I left it somewhere…"

Summer rolled her eyes. "You lost your car? Seth, it's New York City! You can't just leave your car around anywhere!"

"I parked it in a parking garage. Oh! I think I found it! Yup! Yup, I did!"

"Cohen, don't you dare get in that car."

"But I'm gonna come home. I miss you," Seth slurred.

"Cohen! Don't!"

"Summer, you don't want me to come home?" Seth's voice inquired in pain.

"No, no, I do! I love you. But I don't want you to die coming here."

"Oh, I'll be okay, Summer. I'm not really drunk." Seth opened up his car door and put the keys in the ignition.

As Summer heard the sound of the car starting through the phone, she began crying hysterically, trying to plead with him. "Seth! No. Please, please don't drive home. I'm coming to get you. I'll be there really soon. Please don't drive. I love you. Don't drive."

"Are you crying?" Seth asked shockingly into the phone. "Summer, don't cry, I'm coming home right now."

"Seth Cohen if you even think about putting that car in drive I'll kill you! That is if you don't kill yourself first driving drunk!"

"Okay, okay, Summer. I'm turning the car off."

"Where are you?"

"I told you. I'm in New York," Seth laughed.

"No, where's the parking garage," Summer asked frantically.

"50th and 8th. At least I think that's what the sign says… Summer, I love you and I don't want you to leave me," Seth whined.

Summer tried to stay calm. "I'm not leaving you. And I love you too. Listen, I have to call Nick. I'll be there soon. I love you. Don't move!"

Before Seth could say anything, Summer hung up and found Nick's number, dialing it.

Nick answered almost immediately. "Hey, did you hear from him?"

"Yeah, but I gotta pick him up. And he took the car so…"

"I'll be right over." Nick hung up and Summer shut her phone.

"I probably should have mentioned the three hour drive into New York City," Summer mumbled to herself as she searched for her apartment keys.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Can I just say I don't think I've hated Seth any more in my entire life than I do right now?" Nick begrudgingly drove through the streets of Manhattan at nearly four am that morning.

"You haven't even known him a year," Summer retorted.

"Yeah, wonder how this friendship is gonna turn out."

Summer rolled her eyes and scanned the area, seeing the sign for the 50th and 8th parking garage. "I think that's it up there!"

Nick and Summer pulled into the garage and were able to find Seth's car easily with Seth sleeping in an upwards position, with his mouth hanging open.

"Well, that's attractive. It's hard to believe you didn't fall for him sooner."

Summer sent Nick a glare and then hopped out of the car as Nick did the same.

"You know, we should just leave him here. Teach him a lesson."

Summer opened the driver's side door as Seth fell into Summer's arms, only the seatbelt holding him back. "We can't. He has a final tomorrow. Or, actually, today."

"I think that was my point." Nick stood against his car, with his arms crossed as Summer sent him another glare. "Jeez woman. Stop with the glaring. It's not like _I_ drove Seth three hours into New York in the early morning hours before finals."

"I know that… it's just… Nick! Could you please help me a little?" Summer was struggling with Seth's seatbelt and holding him up. Nick raced to Summer's side and held Seth up as Summer undid his seatbelt. Nick then pulled Seth out of the car as Summer held open the back doors so Nick could put him in the back seat.

"There. Seth's sleeping like a baby and will never know what hit him."

"Yeah," Summer cooed. She couldn't help but smile broadly at her boyfriend who was curling up in the backseat, trying to unconsciously get himself situated and comfortable.

Nick looked over to her, baffled. "You really love him, don't you?"

Summer shook herself out of her cooing state and returned to glaring at Nick. "No. I just like to come out to New York in the middle of the night to pick up random drunk guys the day before my eleven am final."

"Yeah, see, that's what I was thinking too, I just wanted to check." Nick glared back. "Have fun traveling back."

With that, Nick hopped back into his car as Summer got into Seth's car, turning on the ignition and booking it out of Manhattan's midtown that was still buzzing with slews of people scanning the streets at four am.


	5. The Ass and the Ahern

**Disclaimer: Still a negative.**

**A/N: Wow. Thank you all so much for the reassuring reviews. It made me feel MUCH better about this story again and you all helped me get excited about writing it. One of the anonymous reviewers pointed out that it was probably because of the holidays and now that I think about it, that's probably true. But either way, I greatly appreciated every single review so thank you.**

**I really wanted to get back into replying to every signed review, but unfortunately the site didn't send me any of the reviews so I wasn't able to. But once it starts sending them again I promise I'll be replying!!**

**Not much else to say – hope everyone has a good New Years!**

**Read. Enjoy! And review, pretty please. :)**

**(P.S. Lots of reviews make me update faster. Honestly. Just throwing that out there. Haha.)**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Seth woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar bed. In fact, it wasn't a bed at all. It was the back seat of his car. Seth sat up, hitting his head against the roof.

"Fuck," he swore as he rubbed his head, trying to dull the physical pain but the events flooding in from the previous night making it increasingly difficult to get rid of the pain.

Seth got out of the car and walked up the steps, back into his apartment preparing for a beating – verbally and physically – from Summer.

"Hey," Seth began as he saw Summer eating her toast. "Thanks for last night. I know you have a final in, like… wow, it's almost ten already?"

"Yeah, I have to leave pretty soon. Think I can use your car? I'll be back before your two o'clock final."

Seth nodded, confused. "So you're not mad?"

"No. Last night made me realize some things."

"Like what?"

Summer got up and went to throw out her napkin. "Like I don't think it's a good idea for me to take the internship in New York. You were right. We had all these plans and ideas for the summer and I can just find something else around here."

Seth felt instantly guilty. Here he had just gone and blown up at her for getting the biggest possible job opportunity someone in her position could have gotten, left to New York City in the middle of the night without telling her, got himself completely drunk, and then made her come get him at four in the morning before her eleven am final.

Not only that, but Summer had always done everything for him. She had decided to go to the East coast for school for him. She had decided to share an apartment with him, even though she had a scholarship that would give her free room and board at Brown. He was being selfish and ridiculous and a really bad boyfriend.

He was an ass.

"No."

"No?" Summer looked up surprised. "What do you mean?"

"No. You need to take the job."

"What? No, Cohen, it's all right. We'll just stay in Providence like we planned and I'll just apply for a job at Victoria Secret's or something -"

Seth interrupted her, bringing his finger up to her mouth. "No, Summer. I want you to take the job."

Summer pushed Seth's finger away from her mouth. "You don't want me here?"

"You know that's not it at all," Seth smiled as he cupped her face in his hands. "This is an excellent opportunity and if you turn this down who knows how many regrets you'll have about it. How many regrets _I'll_ have about keeping you from taking it. I want you to take the job. It's not even four months and it's only New York – you drove there and back just last night." Seth laughed and Summer smiled.

Summer held up her pointer finger. "By the way, that wasn't fun."

"I know, baby girl." Seth planted a kiss on her forehead and then hovered over her lips. "Thank you."

Summer leaned up, closing the small gap. Summer just let her tongue graze his lips before she pulled away. "I don't want to not see you for four months."

"That's not gonna happen, Summer. I have a car. I'll be out there all the time you won't even know I'm gone."

"Yes, I will. I'll have to live in some grungy, broken-down apartment in Brooklyn or some sketchy place like that and only get to see you on the weekends – and probably not every weekend because our schedules will clash and we'll just never see each other and then when I come back we won't even know each other anymore and it will be awkward and strange and we'll end up breaking up, going on to live miserable lives separately."

Seth laughed. "And somehow I'm considered the person who rambles and comes up with crazy scenarios?"

Summer nudged him with her shoulders. "I'm serious, Cohen."

"That's not gonna happen to us. I promise you, Summer," Seth brought his forehead to touch hers, "That's not gonna happen to us."

"Promise you won't talk to any girls?"

"Trust issues much?" Seth laughed, but after catching Summer's frown he recomposed himself. "I promise, Summer. I will not even talk to my boss's secretary. I'll write lots of post-it notes to communicate with the opposite sex."

"Good." Summer smiled, leaning up to kiss Seth again, this time letting her tongue pry his lips open so she could explore the already familiar expanses of his mouth.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Dr. Kollete?" Summer approached her professor after her final. "Do you have a minute?"

Dr. Kollete looked up, smiling. "Of course, Summer. Come on in and take a seat."

Summer did as she was told and looked around the office absentmindedly before Dr. Kollete interrupted her. "Have you reached a decision, Summer?"

As Summer took her gaze away from the Norman Rockwell picture in the corner of the office and turned her eyes back to her professor, she began to have mixed feelings. Seth was right – she would regret it if she didn't take this job. She'd probably spend the rest of her career wondering what could have been if she had this internship on her resume. Summer also knew she couldn't be without Seth's company for four months. Her first semester at Brown three years ago undoubtedly proved that. So did her grades. She did everything half-assed because she just wanted to be talking to Seth, instant messaging Seth, or flying back out to California to see and touch Seth. How could she even think about taking an internship three hours away from Seth in New York for four months after living in the same apartment with him and seeing him every day for the past year?

"Summer?"

Summer made eye contact with her professor and looked helplessly at her. "I don't know what to do."

Dr. Kollete gazed sadly at her. "So you don't want the internship?"

"No, I do."

"Did your boyfriend threaten to break up with you? Because if that's the reason then, Summer, you have to realize that a guy who holds you back from accomplishing your dreams probably isn't the right guy for you."

Summer shook her head fiercely. "Oh, absolutely not. My boyfriend told me to take the job. He thinks it's an excellent opportunity."

"It is," Dr. Kollete nodded her head. "So what's the problem?"

What _was_ her problem? It wasn't like she and Seth hadn't been apart before. And even though it was hell, they made it through. They hadn't spent the past six years fighting for a relationship that was going to go down the tubes as soon as she moved away for a few months. They were stronger than that. This experience would probably make them stronger. She had nothing to worry about.

"Nothing. I want the job," Summer finally blurted out.

Dr. Kollete's concerned face curled into a smile. "You're completely sure, Summer? I can't have you changing your mind the day before we leave."

"I won't. I promise."

"All right," Dr. Kollete stood up from behind her desk, as Summer stood up as well, both shaking each other's hand as if to seal the deal, "Next Thursday I'm heading out and I believe the other student – Matt Ahern, I told you about him, right? – is heading out the same day. He already got an apartment lined up – which was very quick if you ask me, but apparently he has friends that live in the city – but he's still looking for a roommate. Are you interested?"

Before Summer could even nod her head, there was a knock on Dr. Kollete's door.

"Oh, sorry, Summer," Dr. Kollete whispered to her and then shouted, "Yes? Come in!"

A man, probably around Summer's age appeared sheepishly from behind the door. He had deep green eyes – which were impossible to ignore – and dark brown hair, much like her own. He stood relatively tall – maybe only an inch or two shorter than Seth – with a slightly bigger build than her boyfriend, resembling a hockey player's build status. And judging from his Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, Summer guessed he either was a hockey player or at least a fan of the sport.

"Oh! Matt! I was just mentioning you! This is Summer, the other intern," Dr. Kollete introduced them. "And Summer, this is Matt."

Summer held out her hand and Matt had to switch the books he was holding to his other hand to shake hers. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Matt greeted.

Dr. Kollete clapped her hands together, causing both Summer and Matt to break eye contact and look back to their professor. "So… Matt are you still looking for a roommate in New York?"

"Yes," he replied casually.

"And Summer," Dr. Kollete refocused her attention on Summer, "Are you in need of a roommate while in New York?"

"Yes," Summer nodded.

"Well, it looks like you two have things to discuss. And I have finals to grade. So, Matt, how about you come back to my office around three?"

Matt nodded his head. "Sounds good. Thanks, Dr. Kollete."

"Not a problem. Talk to you two later."

Dr. Kollete waved as both Summer and Matt exited the office and entered the nearly empty hallway.

"So Summer…" Matt initiated, searching for a last name.

Summer caught on. "Summer Roberts."

"Summer Roberts," Matt repeated. "What was your grade in Dr. Kollete's class?"

"A 99.3," Summer stated proudly.

Matt lifted his hand that wasn't carrying the books. "Ah, 98.7. Looks like you're ahead of me by five points."

"Six points. 99.3 minus 98.7 is six."

"Right," Matt laughed. "And that's why I'm not a math major."

Summer laughed with him. For some reason, she was quickly finding his personality to be easy-going and comfortable – easily someone she could consider a friend amongst the eight million inhabitants of New York.

"So where are you from, Summer Roberts?"

Summer shook her currents thoughts out of her head and refocused her attention back to the conversation with Matt, her new, soon-to-be roommate. "Southern California. Orange County area."

Matt scrunched up his face. "Oh. You're not one of those Valley girls that acts like they're God's greatest gift to the world are you?"

Summer laughed and shoved him a little. "No. That's not me."

"And you don't need at least five closets to hang all your thousands of different outfits you'll need – even though it will be the same season the whole time we're there?" Matt continued joking as Summer laughed.

"Absolutely not. Although, I may need two…" Summer joked, holding up two fingers sheepishly.

Matt nodded his head. "You're witty. That's quality roommate potential."

"Oh, so I'm auditioning for the roommate position?"

"Well, I can't just ask anyone to live with me for four months. That's a long time to be miserable with someone you hate."

"Nobody hates me," Summer smiled proudly. "In fact, most guys love me."

"Cocky. Yeah, your potential just went down a notch," Matt laughed.

Summer stopped laughing. "Okay, seriously though. I'm going to be rooming with you, right?"

"Yeah, of course. Being in the midst of finals, packing for moving to New York next week, and trying to keep my girlfriend from freaking out about the two of us being apart that long doesn't leave a lot of room to be picky in finding a roommate. As long as you're clean, respectful, and don't like to have parties that start at midnight I would love for you to move into my Upper East side apartment located on 87th and 3rd."

"Oohhh, it's right in Manhattan!" Summer squealed. "I thought we were gonna have to live in Brooklyn or Queens or some dirty place like that! Do we have a view of Central Park? Or Times Square?"

Matt laughed. "Yeah, we have a view. Of another tall residential building."

Summer's glowing face turned into a frown. "Oh."

"Don't look so gloomy. It's a two-bedroom with a kitchen and full bath for only two thousand dollars a month!"

"Two thousand dollars a month?!" Summer shrieked. "My apartment here costs less than half of that and mine sounds bigger!"

"It's Manhattan. Everything is overpriced."

"Right," Summer sighed. "Well, I guess we better start getting to know each other since we'll be living in such a small space for a third of a year."

"That's it, Summer! Don't let the details get you down!" Matt threw his arm over Summer's shoulder as they continued walking Brown's campus, getting to know each other.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time Summer had reached her car forty-five minutes later, she had learned that Matt was a pretty decent, fun-loving guy. He had a girlfriend of almost three months, he was in fact a hockey player – although he thought of it as only a hobby rather than a way of living, and he was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, thus having a handful of friends who were going to school in the Manhattan area.

"So I promised my girlfriend we'd meet up for a late lunch at one thirty and it's…" Matt looked at his watch, "One twenty, so I gotta go. You have my number and I have yours so we'll be in touch for dinner on Sunday night?"

Summer nodded her head. "Absolutely. I'm excited to meet your girlfriend. She sounds very sweet."

"And I'm excited to meet your boyfriend. I've always rooted for the dorks to win over the girls. Makes life seem much more inhabitable if the good guys really do finish last."

Summer beamed. "I'm really glad you're not a weirdo or some jock trying to get in my pants," she told him as they shook hands.

"And I'm really glad you're not a Valley girl whose main purpose in life is to party until she drives herself into an early grave."

Summer and Matt both laughed. "I'll talk to you soon, Matt."

"See ya, Roberts."

Summer got into Seth's car and drove back to their apartment with the fresh feeling that this coming summer wouldn't be as bad as it had seemed this morning.


	6. The Gospel Roommate

**Disclaimer: FOX still owns it.**

**A/N: I'm glad you all are enjoying this story so far. I promise it's not going to be the typical "along comes a guy, causing a rift between our favorite pair" fic. And if you all think you know where I'm going with this story already and think I'm going to go down the typical route – well, you have definitely underestimated me. :) Also, thanks to all the reviewers – the site's still not sending me messages so I haven't been able to reply, but I really do appreciate every single one. So thanks so much!**

**Read. Enjoy! And review!**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Matt?" Seth asked in disbelief. "His name's Matt?"

Summer nodded her head, which was currently lying in Seth's lap, as Seth looked down at her, stroking his fingers through her silky hair distractedly. "Yeah. Why?"

"That's a water polo name. You're gonna be sharing an apartment with a water polo player?"

"He's not a water polo player. He actually plays hockey."

"Same thing," Seth scoffed.

Summer laughed, lifting her head out of her boyfriend's lap, replacing the now empty space with her bottom, and draping her arms around his neck. "Not the same thing, baby. One's played in water and the other's played on ice."

"Both the same chemical compound of H2O."

"Cohen," Summer sighed. "Why's it matter?"

"I just don't like water polo names. It's a sensitive subject." Seth feigned hurt as he placed his hand over his chest.

Summer laughed and moved her whole body so she was sitting still on Seth's lap, but had her legs wrapped around his waist. "What exactly classifies a name as a 'water polo name' anyway?" Summer asked, making air-quotes.

"Well, any name from the Bible usually constitutes for the basis of a water polo name. The Gospels being the first and foremost: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John."

Summer burst out laughing, holding her hands on Seth's shoulders to steady herself. "Names from the Bible? Cohen, are you serious?"

"Yes. Dead serious. Besides, that fact has already been proven through two of those names. Luke Ward – water polo player with the gay dad – and John Deven."

"John Deven? Who was that?"

"The guy you made out with on the field trip to the San Diego Zoo in the seventh grade You know, right next to killer whale exhibit. _Very_ tasteful."

"Oh, _John_," Summer smirked as Seth continued. Summer didn't even bother inquiring how Seth knew about that, even though she distinctly remembered only Marissa and Luke being the only two witnesses. At this point in their relationship Summer knew Seth had known pretty much everything about her before they even had an actual conversation so this mention didn't surprise her much.

"Yes, _John_," Seth put his forehead gently against hers, mimicking her accentuation of the name. "_John_ who then decided it would be funny – along with a few other of his water polo pals – to throw me over the fence to spend quality time with the sheep."

Summer tried to stop laughing as she cupped her boyfriend's face, "Cohen, that was seventh grade. We were thirteen and immature teenagers."

"Doesn't matter. He was still a water polo playing asshole that had a name from the Bible. Proves my point."

"Whatever happened to him? Didn't he, like, move out of Orange County that year?"

"Yeah, to San Francisco because his dad's job made the family relocate. And then you two decided to end your 'relationship,'" Seth used Summer's previously used air-quotes, "because making out just wasn't possible when there was an eight hour distance keeping your hormonal and horny bodies away from each other."

"Cohen, I love you." Summer crushed her nose against his in an Eskimo kiss.

"Well, I love me too." Seth attacked Summer's neck as she continued giggling, pulling back, trying to fend off Seth's mouth.

"Have I ever told you I've always wanted to name my first born child Mark?"

Seth stopped trying to playfully bite her hand and fingers at this remark and pulled back. "Are you being serious?"

Summer nodded her head, trying to keep her giggles from escaping from her mouth.

Unfortunately Seth could see right through her cover. "You're really looking for a tickle attack, aren't you?"

"No! Cohen, no!" Summer screeched as she attempted to get off her boyfriend's lap as he pulled her back down, holding her wrists and keeping her legs firmly in place.

"No son of mine is going to be named Mark!"

Between gasps of laughter, Summer was able to utter a retort. "Who… said… the baby's… gonna… be yours?"

Seth pulled back a bit, stopping his tickle attack on her, but still holding her wrists in place. "Oh, soap opera story lines. The-baby's-not-yours has gotta be my all-time favorite."

"I mean it," Summer contrived seriousness.

"So you're really not in it for the long haul? Just keeping me around until someone bigger and much more enhanced than myself comes along that has better genetic make-up than what my father's Judaism has passed onto me?"

Summer pretended to give it some thought before letting a smile play at the curls of her lips, replying, "Nah, I'm in it for the long haul."

And with that, Seth smirked and leaned down, catching his girlfriend's lips with his own, knowing he only had five more nights of this playful bantering before she'd be off to living life in the Big Apple for the next four months.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So why aren't you freaking out?"

"Excuse me?"

Seth, Nick, and Gabe, one of Seth's buddies from Johnson & Wales University and a fellow co-worker at the store, were playing a series of games in order to determine who was the ultimate winner of Death Fighting Monkey Champion instead of stocking various games and comic books throughout the store.

"He asked why you weren't freaking out," Seth's friend, Gabe, informed Seth helpfully.

"Thanks, Gabe, but I heard what he said."

"So why aren't you?" Nick prodded.

Seth kept his eyes fixated on the plasma screen, fidgeting with his controller. "Because I have no reason to be. Summer and I are the most stable we've ever been. Which, over a span of five or so years – I can't remember, I think I've lost count at this point -, is pretty stable."

"Oh, I see that," Nick jabbed forward with his controller still in hand, talking while focusing on the screen, "But she's going to New York. For four months. To live with some dude you don't know. Aren't you a little sketched out?"

"Sketched?" Gabe interjected, confused.

"Oh you foreign ones – you guys never understand anything," Nick replied hotly.

"Foreign? I'm from _Canada_."

Nick swung his body to the left as if he was actually physically dodging one of the fighting monkeys on the screen. "Still foreign."

Seth laughed as he suddenly leapt up, throwing the controller in the air with his hands, "Yes! Ultimate champion!"

Nick threw down his controller in frustration. "Ah, so that's why you're okay with Summer leaving. You're not getting any sexual pleasures."

"What the hell makes you think that?" Seth spat back at Nick.

"Because you obviously have way too much time on your hands to be perfecting your skills at Death Fighting Monkey Champion."

Gabe and Nick laughed as Seth rolled his eyes, getting up from the reclining seats that were being commercialized in the store. "Seems to me you know a lot about that. How are things with Sherrie going again, Nick?"

"Just because she wants to wait till marriage to have sex doesn't mean – ah, hell, give me something, Cali-boy. I'm dying over here. What was I thinking getting into a relationship with a Catholic girl?"

"Because she's hott," Gabe offered.

"Yes. That is true."

"And you actually like her personality," Seth threw in.

Nick sighed, "Alas, you see why I'm screwed. Or… you know… not in the literal sense… but… anyway, give me some details. How's Summer reacting? Is she happy? Is the sex any better now that she's leaving? Inventing any kinky new moves?"

"You're sickening, you know that?" Seth laughed at Nick. "And Summer's perfectly fine. I'm perfectly fine. We're -"

Both Gabe and Nick interjected before Seth could finish his sentence. "– Perfectly fine."

"Yeah, yeah," Nick rolled his eyes. "We get it. But you don't seriously think that this summer isn't going to affect your relationship at all, do you?"

"It's not. We were a whole country apart for four months before but we made it through."

"Didn't you tell me that you guys fought a lot and broke up a couple of times during Summer's first semester at college?" Gabe asked.

Seth stuttered. "Well… umm… I… yeah, but they were petty fights and only… umm… like one week break ups… you know …"

"See?" Nick poked Seth in the shoulder. "Not perfectly fine."

"We're older now. Our relationship is stronger. Besides, that first semester of college was tough for Summer."

"I believe that. Really I do," Nick reassured Seth half-heartedly. "But that doesn't mean there aren't temptations…"

"For who?" Seth asked, genuinely intrigued.

"For both of you. But especially Summer."

"Are you trying to get me to freak out?" Seth nervously laughed. "Is this some kind of ploy to make me nervous so you can pressure me into a losing round two of Death Fighting Monkey Champion?"

"I wasn't, but that sounds good too. Is it working?"

Seth found his seat back in the reclining chair and rubbed his forehead as he did so. "Yeah. A little bit."

"Listen, Seth, Nick's not saying Summer's going to run off with some random guy -" Gabe started as Nick interrupted.

"Right -"

" – But it's something you need to be at least the tiniest bit aware of with her moving in with some casual guy and only getting a chance to see you every few weekends throughout the summer." Gabe finished.

"I know, I just… well… I love Summer. And I trust her. And she'd freak if she found out I was questioning her trust."

"Think about it this way," Nick slapped a hand on Seth's shoulder, "You're not _not_ trusting her. You're just not trusting anyone else."

Seth nodded his head slowly. "Yeah…"

Gabe slapped Seth's other shoulder. "Just make sure you find out who this Matt guy is and what his exact intentions are before Summer leaves next week."

"Right…"

Just then, the bell on the store's door, signaling that someone had either just entered or left the store, rang out, shaking Gabe and Nick from their previous conversation with Seth. Seth, on the other hand, just stared blankly at the screen in front of him, which was still flashing the words "Player 1 Wins!"

"Hey, guys," Summer greeted Gabe and Nick warmly. "Where's Cohen?"

At the sound of Summer's voice, Seth immediately shot up from the chair and waved nervously over at his girlfriend. "Hey, Sum."

"What's wrong?" Summer approached Seth. "Aw, honey… did you lose the video game you're _not_ supposed to be playing while at work again?"

Seth leaned forward and enveloped Summer in a hug, leaving a lingering kiss on her cheek. "Yeah, yeah. Nick had me."

"Oh yeah. I killed him. Blood and guts poured out of each socket." Nick nodded enthusiastically.

"Right," Summer laughed, looking back up at Seth who still had his hand grasped around Summer's waist. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah. I just gotta get my jacket." Seth let go and reached behind the counter, grabbing his jacket as Summer continued talking to him.

"So you don't mind if we go out to dinner with Matt tonight, do you?"

Seth looked up with raised brows, as Gabe and Nick listened intently. "But I thought we were gonna have dinner just the two of us at that Thai place downtown?"

"We were it's just Matt can't schedule time in for dinner tomorrow and I really want you two to meet before I go off to New York." Summer closed her arms around Seth's torso. "Is that really a huge problem?"

"No, no," Seth tried to shake it off coolly. "I was just wondering."

"Great," Summer stood on her tiptoes, pecking Seth's lips. "Let's get going. I told him we'd be there soon."

Summer bounded out of the store quickly and happily as Seth trudged after her, mumbling to himself.

"Look out for Matt, dude!" Gabe shouted after him.

"Yeah, she's already starting to get attached!" Nick added.

Seth didn't even bother turning back around to look at them when he held up his hand, letting his middle finger do the talking for him.


	7. The Conspicious Appendage

**Disclaimer: Not mine. And only FOX's for two more months. Let's all take a moment to grieve about this.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. As always. And I'm really trying to write this story much faster because I have time and because it would be nice if I could finish it in time for the series finale. I'm not sure about that actually happening, but it's a nice thought, isn't it?**

**Read. ENJOY! And review, please!**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Seth and Summer parked the car in front of a small Café, walking the short distance to the outside table Matt was already saving for them. Matt stood up waving as Summer raced over, dragging Seth behind her, and gave him a hug.

Seth immediately cringed inwardly.

"Hey, man," Matt held out his hand to Seth. "You must be Seth. I'm Matt, nice to meet you."

"You too," Seth plastered on a smile as Summer witnessed the exchange. "Nice shirt."

"Thanks, it was on sale at Abercrombie the other day."

Seth feigned surprise at the word 'Abercrombie.' _Of course_ he was an Abercrombie guy. "Really? I'll have to check that out then."

"Guys!" Summer clapped her hands together. "This is so great! I'm moving in with you," Summer pushed Matt's arm, "and my boyfriend's going to be visiting all the time," Summer wrapped her arms around Seth's torso as Seth slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling her protectively closer, "and you guys like each other so this is gonna be awesome! And, oh! We can go out on double dates with you and Julie!"

"Who's Julie?" Seth questioned Summer and before she could open her mouth, Matt spoke up.

"My ex-girlfriend."

"What?" Summer let go of Seth and placed her arm comfortingly on Matt's back. "What happened?"

"Apparently being physically apart for more time than we have been together as a couple classifies as a reason to break up," Matt sat down. "But it's all right because I didn't see the relationship lasting."

"Matt…" Summer soothed.

Seth cleared his throat, still not sitting down. "So… uh… you don't have a girlfriend?"

Matt and Summer both looked up curiously at Seth as he continued.

"And… uh… you're moving in with Summer – who's… ahh," Seth gulped, "my girlfriend."

"Cohen…," Summer warned.

Matt laughed. "Seth, I think of Summer as a sister. Don't worry."

"A sister?" Seth chuckled nervously, as his left hand played with the hairs on the back of his neck. "You've only… ah… known her ahh, what? Like four days?"

"That's all it takes to know there's no spark, Cohen," Summer gritted through her teeth, glaring at her boyfriend.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. I'm… ah…" Seth's phone interrupted the awkward tension. "Oh, look, my phone. Convenient. Really. I'll be right back."

Seth scurried off back into the parking lot flipping open his phone as Summer and Matt looked on, baffled.

"I thought you said Seth was fine with you moving in with me?" Matt questioned Summer as Seth disappeared from view.

"I thought he was," Summer sighed annoyingly as she watched Seth's retreating back.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Dude, I fucking hate you!" Seth shouted into his phone as soon as he was out of hearing distance.

"Whoa, chill, Cali-boy," Nick answered into the phone. "Me and Gabe just wanted to know what's going on. How's the guy?"

"I'm sure I'd think he was fine if you two hadn't told me that Summer would cheat on me with him!"

"We never said that, man."

"Right," Seth scoffed. "You just told me that she'd have 'temptations.'"

"She will. It's New York. Haven't you ever seen _Sex and the City_?"

"No."

"Oh," Nick quieted. "Yeah, I guess that's a little girly."

"Listen, I need you to tell me I have nothing to be worried about." Seth calmed down, taking deep breaths.

"Why do you need me to say that?"

"So I'll calm down and not act like an idiot throughout dinner making Summer question why she's even with me."

Nick laughed. "Cali-boy, Summer's been your girlfriend for the past six years."

"Off and on."

"Doesn't matter. Point is, if Summer hasn't figured out that you act neurotic in certain situations by now then maybe you have bigger fish to fry."

"Just say it!" Seth yelled.

"Okay, okay. Summer loves you. She's not gonna leave you. You guys are stable and happy and all that lovey-dovey goodness."

"Say it like you mean it."

Nick snorted. "You're serious?" Seth groaned on the other line. "Okay, I really do mean it, Seth. You – and Summer – have nothing to worry about."

"Thank you," Seth exhaled heavily.

"_Cohen_!"

Seth whipped his head around to see Summer stomping up to him, smacking him on the arm. "What the hell is your problem? That outburst back there and now spending five hours on the phone!"

"I don't think it was five hours -" Seth began as Summer reached for his phone, taking it abruptly and shoving it against her ear.

"Who the hell is this?"

"Nick," he answered hesitantly. "Hi, Summer."

"Oh, don't 'hi, Summer' me! You're the one that did this to Cohen didn't you? You put some crazy idea into his head that me and him were in trouble because of Matt, didn't you? Huh?"

"We just wanted him to be aware of the possible temptations…" Nick ventured cautiously.

"We? _Temptations_?!" Summer yelled, causing Seth to outwardly wince.

"Me and Gabe. And yeah, temptations with your new roommate when Seth wasn't around this coming summer. Girls have certain urges and special needs too. Sometimes in the moment they can do irrational things to help satisfy those urges and needs."

"You're unbelievable!" Summer shouted and then shut the phone, sighing loudly as she handed it back to a dumbfounded Seth. "Seth, don't listen to them. They're assholes."

Seth nodded wordlessly as Summer began walking back, stopping to turn around and see that Seth wasn't following her. Summer sighed dramatically as she walked back to Seth, linking her arms around his neck, playing with the curls on the back of his head. "Baby, I _love_ you."

Seth nodded again as Summer brought her body closer, leaning against his. "Nobody else matters but me and you. You know that, right? Because this whole me in New York and you in Providence thing won't work if you don't trust me."

"It's not that I don't trust you," Seth told her, quoting Nick's reasoning from earlier in the afternoon, "I just don't trust other people."

Summer's lips curled into a smile. "Okay, well trust _me_ when I say that Matt's a good guy. He's not gonna try anything. And if – on the slimmest chance – that he does, I'll kick him so hard that'll be impossible for him to have children and I'll come straight back to Providence to be with you."

Seth leaned down, planting an innocent kiss on his girlfriend's lips, pulling away only a fraction of an inch. "I especially don't trust water polo named people."

Summer laughed, releasing her grip around Seth's neck, instead reaching her left hand in Seth's matching right one, intertwining their fingers. "I know, Cohen. I know." They walked back, hand in hand, to the table Matt was still holding for them.

"Everything okay?" Matt stood up as Seth and Summer approached him.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Seth replied, grabbing a seat. "So tell me about the guy who's gonna be watching over my girlfriend for me this summer." Seth smiled. "Summer tells me he's kind of interesting."

Matt laughed. "Well, Seth, I grew up in Connecticut. The New Haven area. And I'm really into hockey."

"The sport?" Seth scrunched up his face in mock disgust.

Summer smiled as Seth made a comment about how sports were not exactly up his alley. Matt had laughed and began explaining the rules of hockey as Seth nodded intently, genuinely trying to understand, and Summer gripped Seth's hand underneath the table, trying to give him reassurance and support.

Seth didn't need to be worried about anything.

And Summer squeezed his hand every so often to make sure he knew she was already plenty satisfied.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The dinner, which lasted a good hour and a half, was fantastic. Seth, much to his own shock, even found himself enjoying Matt's company. Summer was right – Matt was funny and nice and not at all like the water polo player he had imagined him to be. He didn't have arrogance coming out of his ass and he didn't put on a show to try to impress Summer, or make any attempts at trying to make Seth jealous.

In fact, Seth couldn't even recall a time throughout the whole dinner when Matt tried to focus his sole attention on Summer, completely ignoring that Seth was there.

Seth was shocked, to say the least. This guy was pretty awesome. Hell, if Summer was to break up with him and go out with Matt, he didn't even think he could hate the guy.

Seth shook his head as he stared at his reflection in the mirror in the restaurant's bathroom, baffled by his previous unspoken thought. "Okay, let's not take this too far."

Seth really liked this Matt dude. And it certainly helped knowing that Summer was going to spending the summer with him rather than some cocky, jackass, water polo player.

Seth walked out of the bathroom and before he could turn the corner, Summer was throwing herself at him – or more pointedly, his lips – shoving him roughly against the wall, as Seth gripped her waist for stability.

Summer hated public displays of affection. And they were in a public restaurant. Next to the bathroom.

But who was Seth to complain when Summer's tongue was doing what it was in his mouth?

"Thank you," Summer breathed heavily as she detached herself from Seth's jaw a few minutes later. "That really meant a lot."

"What? The make out? Cause, seriously, Summer, you _really_ do not have to hesitate when you get the urges to jump me outside of a public bathroom. _Really_."

Summer smiled as she fixed her dress, making her way into the bathroom, only leaving Seth with a flirtatious smile instead of an answer.

Seth's smile turned into a frown as he saw Summer disappear into the ladies bathroom, knowing he wasn't going to receive a response.

With Summer taking new, impulsive actions – such as this most random public display of affection – Seth was finding himself more perplexed by the ways of his girlfriend even more. Ever since she was offered the internship to New York, she had been very touchy-feely with Seth virtually everywhere. And he wasn't about to complain or anything, it was just… well, it was weird. She hadn't done this when they knew they were going to be separated a semester cross country, or any other time they knew they were going to be separated for a long period of time.

Maybe she was just starting to realize how difficult this separation was going to be. To Seth, he already knew it was going to be a long, hard, and very difficult task to stay on target concerning his work when all he would want to be doing is worrying about Summer. Maybe Summer was trying to be all touchy-feely like this, knowing she'd be going a long time without it.

Seth didn't have a very long time to contemplate it when he was once again shoved in the corner of the hallway with Summer's lips smacking against his and her legs jumping up, encircling his waist. Seth unknowingly grabbed her butt to keep her balanced and to not interrupt their extremely, _oh so hot_, make out session.

Plus, Seth was really getting turned on by this spontaneous Summer.

Summer was pushing roughly against a specific area that definitely didn't need any more attention when a loud, cleared throat broke their intimate stance.

"Excuse me," the voice rang out. "Excuse me but do you think you can take that elsewhere?"

Summer immediately jumped out of Seth's arms, blushing a deep crimson red, as she turned around and smiled awkwardly at the waitress.

"Yeah… sorry." Summer told her and as she began to walk off, the waitress started giggling to herself nervously, taking a few noticeable glances at Seth's below the waist area.

Summer noticed this, as did Seth, and Seth suddenly realized his mind wasn't the only body part that had gotten turned on by Summer's spontaneous actions.

Seth grabbed Summer's arm, pulling her back up against his chest to conceal the noticeable evidence.

"We're just… umm," Seth stuttered as he tried to walk out of the hallway with his hands still placed on Summer's shoulders, keeping her closely in front of him, "We're just going. Sorry. Thanks. Yeah…"

Seth and Summer continued their same walking position until they got to their table, standing in front of a confused looking Matt.

"You guys all right?" Matt asked.

"Yeah… yeah," Summer giggled as Seth took his hands from her shoulders and then placed them instead on her arms, lovingly rubbing them up and down as if to conceal why Summer was still standing almost on top of Seth. "We just have to get going. We have some things to take care of." Summer snickered as Seth groaned, the pain becoming even more unbearable.

"Oh…" Matt nodded his head. "All right. Well, let me walk you two out."

"No!" Seth shouted, a little too eager. "I mean, no, it's fine. We're fine. You know… it's… fine..." Seth finished awkwardly.

"Right. Okay." Matt didn't ask any more questions as Summer's uncontrollable giggles and Seth's look of annoyance filled the area. "Well, I'll see you two on Thursday then."

"Thursday," Summer repeated. "See you!"

"Nice to meet you, Matt." Seth let go of Summer's arm, extending a hand to Matt's, but quickly pulled away from the handshake as Summer began walking out of the Café.

As soon as they were out in the parking lot, a few feet away from the car, Seth let go of Summer giving Summer a better look at her boyfriend's conspicuous appendage.

She really couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"You think this is funny? Summer, I'm in pain!"

This only caused Summer's laughter to make her double over in her own pain, as her stomach twisted in knots. "So am I!" Summer managed to squeak out.

"Yeah," Seth roughly opened the driver's side door, getting in angrily as Summer slid into the passenger's seat, trying to catch her breath.

"Don't worry, baby," Summer cooed. "We'll take care of that once we get home."

Seth mumbled to himself, rambling incoherent sentences about how it wasn't fair and that girls were born the luckier sex and then suddenly, they reached a stop light. Seth turned to a still laughing Summer, grabbing her face and smashing it against his forcefully as he assaulted her mouth with his tongue.

Seth pulled away, hearing a honk that told him that the red light was now green, and Summer immediately stopped laughing.

"What was that for?" Summer asked.

"What? You're the only one who's allowed to have a spontaneous sex drive around here?"

Summer giggled and Seth looked over at his smirking girlfriend.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Seth returned the smirk and continued taking glances at Summer, as she continued grinning flirtatiously back at him, and he drove them quickly back to their apartment.


	8. The Lasting Promise

**Disclaimer: It's not mine. But I definitely wish I had come up with the idea before Josh did and therefore could have chosen some better storylines than the ones that were in season three, thus leading to another season rather than the despise of The OC on Fox. You know, cause wishful thinking never hurt anyone.**

**A/N: So I'm noticing a trend with reviews that you all are going… well… _nutso_ (for lack of a better word) at wondering where I'm gonna take this story. Let me give you a clue – I've already made a major mention of something that will eventually cause a few problems for our favorite couple. Now, I do realize that that barely narrows anything down, seeing as there have already been seven chapters, but I felt I had to give you guys something to work with.**

**Thanks for all the reviews – they really do help me write faster. Inspiration is key here, people!**

**Read, enjoy! And review, as you would appreciate if you were/are a writer.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

With finals completely over and only a few days left until Summer had to leave for New York, both she and Seth thought they could spend the majority of their time together trying to savor the little time they had left and would have during the next few months. But with Seth's internship turning into an actual job once his finals had ended and Summer's immense amount of packing that needed to be done, they didn't have more than a few waking hours a day to spend with one another.

On Wednesday night, the night before Seth was to bring Summer to New York, Seth had intended on making a romantic meal in the confines of their own apartment and Summer had been ecstatic when he had told her he had secret plans to make their last night together spectacular.

Summer was really starting to become uneasy the closer Thursday came. She really didn't want to leave Seth. Not that when she had taken the internship she had wanted to leave him, but it was all of a sudden starting to hit her that this was it. Seth wasn't the guy she was gonna be around for the next three and a half months. She'd have to depend on a completely different roommate – a male roommate – and she wasn't ready for that.

Last year, when she and Seth were in the midst of talking about moving in together in Los Angeles, Summer had plenty of doubts. She wasn't sure if she was ready to take that next step in their relationship and she wasn't sure the constant being around each other would be the best idea. Besides that, she had never lived with a guy before – with the exception of her father – and although she understood that Seth knew pretty much everything about her, she had been afraid that he would bail when he found out she needed to use Q-tips everyday or that her face needed the cleansing aid of a green, cucumber melon mask every week.

Thankfully Seth hadn't taken too much notice to these sorts of idiosyncrasies – minus the few raised eyebrows or awkward stares whilst Summer went about her normal routine – and Summer didn't have a hard time adjusting to sharing her whole life with Seth. In fact, after a week she found living with Seth was simply normal and almost routine in itself that she didn't feel uncomfortable or insecure.

Seth and Summer were a package deal. They knew each other in and out, through thick and thin. Summer had been ready to live with Seth. And after it actually happened – and after they had gotten over that minor hump in their relationship they had last summer -, she never thought she'd have to worry about readjusting to living with another man.

And that is exactly what scared her.

Of course she was nervous about moving in with Matt, but she didn't really feel the same kind of awkwardness and uneasiness she had felt when contemplating moving in with Seth. It was completely different; Seth was her boyfriend and this was a random guy she just met. But the fact that maybe Summer and Matt would have the same type of chemistry as roommates as she and Seth did is what scared her the most.

She liked to imagine that she and Seth were these two separate souls that were always destined for one another. Even though she was never the daydreaming type, she always felt that Seth would just be it for her and that everything that they would do together would just somehow make sense and fall into place. And so far, it did. And that reassured Summer's dreams.

But if Summer and Matt were able to get along and live with one another just as well as she and Seth had, well, then… that perfect image of her and Seth fatefully belonging to one another wouldn't be true. And then Summer would worry that Seth wasn't the perfect person for her. And then, through her intense sessions of over-analyzing things that shouldn't be over-analyzed, she'd probably ruin her perfect relationship with the guy she planned on marrying.

And Summer really didn't want that.

But on the other hand, she didn't want living arrangements with Matt to go horribly. Because living with someone you can't stand to live with for nearly four months? Yeah, that could prove to be a colossal problem.

So in reality, Summer was nervous. And screwed up. And she really, really didn't know what would be worse: her and Matt getting along or her and Matt not.

Summer sat on the edge of her bed, looking towards the wall contemplating these over-obsessive thoughts as she heard the door open and shut quickly with someone rustling throughout the front part of the apartment.

"Seth?" Summer called out as she made her way to the living room. "Is that you?"

Seth bounded towards Summer swiftly, putting both hands on either side of the wall to block Summer from going any further. "Go back into the bedroom."

Summer smirked, crossing her arms across her chest. "Ordering me around the night before I leave? Yeah, that's a sure fire way to get in my pants."

"I'm not trying to get in your pants, sweetie. Been there enough to know how to get in them, but thanks for the heads up," Seth replied smartly as Summer smacked his chest in a joking manner. Seth laughed and continued, "I'm trying to plan a romantic meal for two so if you'd kindly go back into the bedroom and let me do this, I'd really appreciate it."

"It's nearly seven at night. I already ate waiting for you."

"Oh, believe me. You'll want to eat this too," Seth finished as he put his hands on her shoulders, turning her around and guiding her into the bedroom. "I love you." Seth kissed the back of her head before sneaking out of the room quickly.

Summer sighed as she returned to the bed and fell lazily backwards onto it.

She really did have the best boyfriend in the entire universe. And Summer closed her eyes tightly, praying to any above Being that she and Seth would make it through the summer.

Cause their track record for surviving summers without a break up – or at least a lot of drama – wasn't looking too bright.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come here." Seth wiggled his finger in the doorway as Summer snapped the photo album of all her and Seth's most candid photos shut. "What's that?"

Seth tried to peer around the wall, searching for where Summer had just thrown the album but he couldn't see it in sight.

"Nothing. Just pictures."

"I didn't know you kept albums. That's very Martha Stewart of you, Summer," Seth grinned as Summer took both of her arms and wrapped them around Seth's left arm.

"Shut up, Cohen. Now show me what you've been doing for the past hour."

Seth nodded, smiling and staying silent as he led Summer into the bathroom where vanilla candles – her favorite – were placed strategically throughout the small room and the faint smell of plumeria lingered in the air as Summer noticed the bubbles and water filling the tub.

"Seth…" Summer gasped as she held her hands to her mouth. "This is beyond perfect."

Seth didn't reply and instead began walking out of the tiny room. He didn't get too far before Summer grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going? You didn't think I was going to enjoy all of this by myself, did you?"

Seth shook his head, trying to keep the goofy grin from being permanently etched across his face. "Oh, of course I did. I just spent an hour doing possibly the most romantic thing I have ever done in my life and I just want you to enjoy it by yourself. You caught me, Summer."

Summer tried to give him a stern face as a reply but couldn't choke back the laughs that were coming to her mouth. "I love you, Cohen."

"Glad to hear it." Seth leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her nose and then a sweet, soft, and simple one on her lips before pulling back. "Now let me go get the food."

Summer lightly swatted Seth's boxer-clad butt as he exited the bathroom and she twirled around, admiring the room again.

There was no other way to describe the feel of the room other than through the words of love and perfection. Seth had definitely put a lot of thought into everything – from all the candles, the bubble bath, the pink towels with the letters SS written on them, and the small velvet box reflecting off the mirror sitting awkwardly behind a candle –

Wait – Summer swung her head back around to do a double take – a small velvet box that looked a lot like a box in which an engagement ring would arrive in was sitting right there, hiding behind a few candles.

"Oh my God," Summer gasped as she sat back onto the towels covering toilet seat. "Oh my God."

"So here it is," Seth reappeared in the bathroom, holding two plates of tiramisu – one of Summer's favorite desserts – as he noticed Summer sitting on the towels. "Okay, so not _quite_ how I'd imagine you reacting to the towels but I suppose it will do."

Summer shook herself from her shock and looked back up to Seth, absentmindedly. "What?"

"The towels. You're sitting on them. I was thinking you were gonna wrap yourself up in them after the bubble bath but using them as a seat cushion on the toilet is definitely an interesting take on the romantic gesture."

Summer stood up abruptly. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Seth laughed as he sat the plates down carefully on the sink. "You can do whatever you want with them. They're yours. Well, ours actually. I mean, unless you want four towels to yourself."

"Right…" Summer trailed as she sat back down, images she wasn't sure she was ready to face clouding her thoughts.

Sure she had thought about marrying Seth. Being with a guy for almost six years, off and on, and not giving a single thought to marriage would be careless and irresponsible. And Summer was sure she wanted to marry Seth. But to be engaged before she was even twenty-one – before any of her friends were engaged or even near that stage?

Yeah, that was a bit scary.

But she really had been thinking a lot about it lately. Especially through her more constant and longer glances throughout her candid photo album filled with pictures of her and Seth. Summer was just looking through it moments earlier while she waited impatiently for Seth to finish his secretive romantic night. So she was definitely thinking about it. Then why was she so worried and on the verge of freaking out right now?

"What is it, Sum?" Seth noticed the nervous tension Summer was in. "Towels too cheesy?"

Summer decided beating around the bush wasn't going to solve anything so just jumping straight into discussing engagement and marriage plans may ruin the romantic night but Summer was in no way, shape, or form able to go on a second longer holding in her racing thoughts. "I don't think I'm ready."

Seth immediately frowned, although he didn't know exactly what he was frowning for. But he sure as hell knew that having a girlfriend saying those words was probably not cause for celebration. "Okay, listen," Seth put his arms out to animate his words, "I'm not trying to freak you out or anything I just really wanted tonight to be special. If I had known you were gonna get so freaked out about the towels -"

Summer laughed nervously to herself, interrupting Seth's attempt at an explanation. "You think this is about the towels?"

"Umm… yeah… what else would it be about?"

"The ring! Right there! That ring box!" Summer shouted, pointing her finger towards the box. "Seth, I love you but being engaged is a _huge_ deal. And we're still in college. We still have time. And I'm happy about where we are right now in our relationship. I mean, not me leaving to go to New York cause that still sucks, but about us. You know? Like, just us, living together, getting things in order, going to school and getting jobs. We're just, like, figuring all this out. Don't you think we can wait on the engagement thing for awhile?"

Seth sat on the edge of the bathtub, taking in everything Summer had just quickly said. "Umm… yeah… we can wait…" Seth rubbed his temples, feeling a slight headache coming on from all the unprepared excitement. "Summer, that's not an engagement ring."

"What?" Summer asked incredulously, on the verge of tears. "You don't want to marry me?"

"What? Summer, no! I mean, yes! I mean… what the hell are you talking about?" Before Summer could respond, Seth grabbed the ring box, opening it up to reveal a sterling silver ring with a few diamonds placed sporadically within the band. "It's a promise ring. I've been meaning to get you one for awhile but I just never had the money to get a proper one and now with my pay raise and all -"

As realization dawned on her, Summer grabbed the ring box and placed it haphazardly on the toilet seat, where the towels still lay on the covering, and toppled Seth happily as she threw her arms around his neck, attaching her mouth to his jaw, and startled herself when they both fell accidentally into the thousands of bubbles that were hiding the water-filled tub. Summer screamed as Seth automatically threw his hand to the back of his throbbing head, which had just hit the side of the tub.

"Ahh," Summer cried. "My clothes!" Summer hopped quickly out of the tub, grabbing one of the towels to wrap herself in, knocking the ring box to the floor. Seth sat up in the tub, not having to worry too much about clothes since he was only in his boxers, staring between Summer and the ring box that had just fell unceremoniously onto the bathroom tiled floor.

Summer caught Seth's gaze to the box and she bent down, keeping the towel wrapped around her with one hand and grabbing the box with the other. She opened it up and took the ring out of its socket in the box, then turning her gaze back to her boyfriend. "Where should I put it?"

"On your finger would be my number one choice," Seth chuckled nervously as his wet curls crowded his forehead and his nose scrunched up in hesitation.

Summer smiled. "Well, I know that, baby. But I meant what _finger_."

"Well," Seth began as he rubbed the back of his neck with one of his hands, making a goofy grin in the process, "That's up to you, I guess."

"Hmm," Summer stood up, holding onto the ring but letting the towel drop to the floor. "I'm not sure which finger it belongs on…" Summer unbuttoned her button down blouse. "I mean, I could put it on my right hand, ring finger…" Summer slid herself out of her khaki-colored pants. "But I really don't think it belongs there."

Seth watched Summer intently as she put one leg over the bathtub, lowering her almost naked body into the bubbled water, still holding the ring.

"I kind of want to wear it on my left hand…" Summer spoke again, this time locking eyes with Seth's matching brown ones, as she handed him the ring and held out her hand. "On my left hand's ring finger."

Seth took a hold of the ring, sending questioning glances towards Summer as she nodded and bit down on her bottom lip happily. "I mean, the finger has to get used to having jewelry holding it down from now on, right?"

Seth's lips broke out into a huge grin as he nodded and placed the ring gently on his girlfriend's finger, and then lacing her fingers with his own. "I love you, Summer."

"Hmmhmm," Summer smiled and leaned forward, placing soft, sweet kisses on Seth's mouth, trying not to let them get too passionate too soon.

"No food?" Summer asked as Seth's hand decidedly reached down Summer's back, searching for the clasp of her bra.

"Food is overrated," Seth mumbled back as Summer giggled into his mouth in response.


	9. The Manhattan Home

**Disclaimer: If I owned it, I wouldn't be posting on this site.**

**A/N: So I'm back in classes (harder ones this semester, as well) which means I won't be updating as often anymore. I'm still not sure on how often but I'll probably have to get into classes a bit more to figure out what my workload will be and how much time I'll have left for writing. Bear with me.**

**Also, I apologize for not updating sooner – as soon as I got back to school, someone living in the dorms received a virus so IT shut everyone's internet down until the virus was quarantined and deleted. So don't think I was just being a pain in the ass making you all wait, cause I really wasn't.**

**In the meantime – read, enjoy, and review!**

**Thanks!**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"So what street is this apartment on, again?" Seth asked Summer as he sat in the driver's seat of his Camry, scanning the Upper East side of Manhattan's streets.

"87th and 3rd. It's number 1344, apartment 3A," Summer answered her boyfriend as she read off the details on the small piece of scrap paper.

"Ah, well then that would be it," Seth pointed, taking one hand off the wheel, as he continued to drive towards the building. Matt's stature came into view as they got closer and he waved them down wildly. Summer rolled down her window as they pulled up.

"Hey!" Summer shouted out to him.

"Hey there Summer. And Seth, hey man, how are you?" Matt leaned in the passenger's window saying hi to both Seth and Summer.

"Good, considering the circumstances," Seth smiled slightly as he took a hold of Summer's hand, squeezing it and looking into her eyes sadly.

"Yeah," Matt interrupted their moment a few beats later. "I promise you she'll be all right. And I also promise I won't try anything stupid. Besides, I'm not into California girls anyway." Matt laughed and then pointed to the trunk, "Pop the trunk?"

Seth took a deep breath and then nodded, pulling on the gage to pop the trunk as Matt went to the back to take some of Summer's things. Seth looked back at Summer as he was about to get out and Summer sat there staring blankly in front of her.

"Summer…" Seth nudged her. "Gotta go get you settled."

Summer turned her face towards Seth. "I love you."

Seth's lips formed a lopsided grin. "I know. And I love you too." Seth leaned over, placing a light, but still passionate kiss on Summer's lips, pulling back slowly, whispering. "Come on – can't make the kid do all the work."

"Ohh," Summer laughed, getting out of the car at the same time as Seth, "Cause you'll help carry things in, right Cohen?"

"I will!" Seth mocked hurt. "I'm disappointed you think so little of me."

Summer laughed, lightly swatting Seth's arm before she grabbed a suitcase. Seth followed her with a single, medium sized box, grinning happily into the apartment building.

------------------------------------------------------

Summer and Seth walked into the apartment – three floors up – and took in the view. The kitchen was immediately right in front of the door, the living room was smaller than a dorm sized room, and both bedrooms were right next to each other at the opposite end.

"Wow. So this is… umm…" Summer stuttered.

"This is small," Seth finished for her.

"Yeah," Summer looked to Seth before looking back around the apartment.

"Guys!" Matt called out to them when he came out of one of the bedrooms. "Over here! This bedroom's yours."

Summer took a glance over her shoulder at Seth and Seth shrugged, still holding the box, and nodded his head towards the doorway where Matt was standing. Summer turned back around and began walking towards Matt, feigning enthusiasm, "Great."

The bedroom was about the same size of the living room with pale yellow colored walls and a beat down dresser and built-in closet. The bed frame was made completely out of brass and from the looks of it, the twin-sized mattress didn't seem to be anymore comfortable than a carpeted floor. The window was covered by old, off-white curtains so Seth put down the box and walked over to it, hoping to open it up to a nice view. Instead, a five feet distance between the window and the next stone building filled all different angles. Seth strained his head up, trying to see a view of the New York sky and instead found himself awkwardly eyeing a rather huge spider.

"Oh my fucking God," Seth jumped back, falling into Summer's embrace.

"What?" Summer asked anxiously.

"There's an enormous spider up there! I think it's bigger than my hand!"

Matt laughed in the background, walking towards the window with a paper towel in hand. "I've been trying to clean up all day. Apparently the landlord doesn't clean up the apartment before new tenants move in."

Both Summer and Seth nodded distractedly as Matt caught the spider in his paper towel, bringing it to the bathroom which was right next to Summer's bedroom.

As the sound of a flushed toilet filled the tiny apartment, Summer glanced worriedly up at Seth as Seth tried to send a comforting smile in reply, but failed miserably when he scrunched up his face at the loud sound of an ambulance going by.

Matt came back into Summer's bedroom as Summer turned her face shockingly on him, still keeping her grip on Seth's arm, "This place costs two thousand dollars a month?"

"Two thousand dollars a month?" Seth quipped. "Are you kidding?"

"It's Manhattan, you guys," Matt answered. "Everything is crazy expensive – no matter what the size."

When neither Summer nor Seth replied, Matt decided it was probably time to leave them alone for a little bit – just to get used to the situation and the living arrangements. "All right, so… I gotta go get some groceries. And I was thinking pizza for dinner – that good with you two?" Seth and Summer nodded wordlessly, still gripping a hold of each other's arms and hands. "Okay… well… I'll be back in a few hours. Oh, and any movies you want me to pick up?"

"Anything's fine," Summer replied.

"Yeah, doesn't matter to me," Seth told him.

"Right, well… see ya." Matt left, leaving Seth and Summer to themselves.

Seth let go of Summer and sat on the bed, hearing the creeks in the frame as he moved even the slightest inch.

"Well, this should be… ah… comfy," Seth smiled.

Summer sighed sadly as she landed onto the bed next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

------------------------------------------------------------

"New York really does have great pizza. I'll give this city that," Seth mumbled as he stuffed a fourth slice of cheese pizza into his mouth.

"Cohen. Food. Mouth. Shut."

"Oh, no more sentences, I see? Trying to save time? Want to get to more important topics like politics, the weather, what kind of stores you're gonna hit first this weekend when you're wallowing over the loss of my constant presence?"

Summer rolled her eyes, "There's still food in your mouth."

Matt laughed as he turned the DVD player on as Seth and Summer settled in on the couch and Matt laid a blanket and a pillow across the floor. "Banter is what you guys do best, huh? I heard that that's the newest form of a turn-on… should have tried that one with Julie."

"I'm sorry, Matt…" Summer started but Matt cut her off.

"No, seriously, it doesn't matter. I wasn't too into her anyway. Plus," Matt perked up, "A girl I used to date off and on through high school and the first year of college lives here so I'm thinking of trying to catch up with her in hopes of sparking a fun summer romance."

"Summer flings. Definitely the best way to go," Seth encouraged as Summer threw him a glare, so he then added in, "Not that I'll be participating in a summer fling myself."

Matt laughed. "Yeah, she lives a little further uptown with a couple of my good guy friends from high school. They all go to school at Columbia." Matt focused his attention on Summer. "Hopefully you'll get to meet them this weekend. I've been trying to make plans for Saturday night, if that's cool with you."

Summer nodded, chewing on her piece of pizza and Seth cut in. "Do these other guys have girlfriends?"

Summer nudged Seth with her shoulder, rolling her eyes and Matt smiled back at Seth. "Well, Mark does but John doesn't."

"Mark and John?" Seth grunted and then turned towards Summer, but let his finger point at Matt. "More water polo names!"

"Water polo names?" Matt asked confused.

Summer swallowed her piece of pizza and decided to answer Matt because obviously Seth's state of shock wasn't filling Matt in on anything. "Cohen has this theory on water polo players. He thinks they all have certain names and that they're all jackasses. So, therefore, any guy who has what he classifies as a 'water polo name,'" Summer held her fingers up for air-quotes, "is automatically considered a jackass even before he's met them."

"It's a sensitive subject," Seth threw in.

"I won't lie, John can be a real douche bag when he wants to be but Mark's pretty cool. But if John tries to give Summer any hassle, I promise I'll put him back in line," Matt tried to comfort Seth.

Summer rubbed her hands on her napkin before rubbing them up and down Seth's chest consolingly, "See? Nothing to freak out about."

"I'm not freaking," Seth stood up, removing Summer's hands from his chest, "I'm going to pee."

Matt feigned a smile as he left and turned back towards Summer. "You sure he's gonna be all right this summer? That he's not gonna be down here every free morning or afternoon or night he has or calling you consistently every few hours?"

"Seth will get over it. It's just the whole newness of the situation and I think some of his friends back in Providence were giving him a hard time. He'll be okay," Summer sighed. "At least I hope so."

Summer took another slice of pizza as Matt changed the subject and Seth withdrew his ear from the bathroom door – after hearing Matt and Summer's comments -, sliding down to the ground, leaning against the door, covering his face in his hands in frustration.

----------------------------------------------------

Summer lay in her half-made bed a few hours later, as she waited for Seth to emerge from the bathroom after brushing his teeth and finishing the necessary preparation he did before bed. The remainder of the night had been spent trying to ignore Seth's worries and Summer's nervousness, all while Matt tried to focus on the Adam Sandler movie he rented rather than partake in the obvious tension surrounding the tiny room. Summer sighed, sprawling out across the twin-sized bed looking up towards the slightly molded ceiling.

Summer was really starting agonize about this upcoming summer. So far things with Seth were starting out rocky and even though when it was just the two of them they were perfectly fine, the fact that Summer wasn't going to be in the same state as Seth was starting to rapidly creep up in their minds, jolting their stable status.

"Hey," Matt knocked as he peeked in Summer's open door, "What time is Seth planning on leaving tomorrow?"

"Probably noon. He has to work at the store later in the afternoon," Summer sat up, answering him, "Why?"

"Dr. Kollete just called me – I guess we have some sort of tour around the workplace tomorrow at two."

"Okay…" Summer smiled weakly as Seth appeared in the doorway next to Matt in his plaid boxers and bright blue, wrinkled t-shirt. Next to each other, Summer noticed the same awkward stance and awful taste in fashion, but Summer also noticed Seth's sheepish grin showing off his adorable dimples and his skinny, lanky build. Matt's defined muscles as a result of playing hockey and very broad shoulders definitely didn't even come close to matching Seth's endearing body – at least in Summer's point of view.

"Okay, what?" Seth looked from Matt to Summer.

"Our professor called and told me we have to meet her for a tour tomorrow afternoon," Matt told Seth, "So I was just telling Summer the details."

"Oh," Seth mouthed slowly, "Right then."

Matt stood awkwardly next to Seth for another moment before making a motion to move, "I'll see you guys in the morning." Matt grabbed the doorknob, pulling it closed as he left Summer's room.

Seth walked mutely into the room, avoiding eye contact with Summer so Summer lay back down on the bed, sighing loudly.

"So you're just going to ignore me?" Summer spoke up after a few more moments of silence and Seth's jittery stance throughout his overnight duffel bag. "Well, this should be an _awesome_ last night together. I guess I'll just go to sleep then. If I don't see you in the morning, have a good summer."

Summer flipped dramatically on the bed, facing the wall and Seth stood up from the floor, walking over to the bed, placing his hand on Summer's back and rubbing it soothingly. "I'm worried."

"Seth," Summer turned over as Seth removed his hand from her back, "We can't do this."

"Do what? We weren't doing anything."

"We can't freak out. Or close each other off. Cause communication seems to be our biggest problem in the summer months. And I _really_ don't want us to go through another summer like last year."

"Neither do I."

"Then stop it."

Seth lay down on the bed, squeezing his body closely next to Summer's. "Okay."

"Seth," Summer turned wrapping her arms around his torso and linking her legs amongst his, "I love you. I don't want this summer to ruin us. So just trust me, all right? No guy competes with you because you're it for me. No games, no discussion – you're it."

Seth smiled, pulling his arms around Summer's body, bringing her even closer – almost on top of him – and kissed her forehead. "Ditto here. Except I think I love you more."

"Enough with the cheese, Cohen," Summer giggled, reaching her resting head up from his chest to bring her lips to his.

-----------------------------------------------

Summer stood outside the apartment building, leaning against Seth's driver side door as Seth pressed into her body, leaving short, sweet, and simple kisses on her lips.

It was 12:37, Summer noted when she took at glance at Seth's watch, and Seth and she had been trying to say goodbye now for 42 minutes.

Which possibly made this the longest goodbye in the history of goodbyes. Even longer than the one when Summer went off to Brown that first semester of college – that one had only totaled 31 minutes. (But that had mostly been because Seth and her had been late to the airport due to Summer's – and she assumed Seth's as well – need to be passionately and intimately close one very last minute time before she was gone until Thanksgiving.)

"All right," Seth mumbled into Summer's lips, pulling the slightest bit away and looking deeply into her eyes as he held his grip on her waist, "I really have to go now. No one's gonna be able to cover my shift at the store if I'm late."

Summer nodded sadly, kissing his lips again. "We're kind of sickening. I bet Matt's gonna kick me out once he knows how long I've been out here saying goodbye to you."

"Good," Seth smiled, "Then you can come back and live with me."

Summer brought her hands up to Seth's face, rubbing her fingers over his skin and staring intently into his eyes which reflected the same sad emotion she felt. "Okay. Bye, Cohen."

Summer removed her hands and took Seth's hands off of her waist, moving aside. Seth, begrudgingly, got into the car, rolling down the window. "Be safe, Sum."

"I will. I love you. Come visit soon," Summer shouted and waved as Seth began driving off down the street, honking a few times to show that he had heard her.

Summer stood there waving until Seth's car had already disappeared and the exhaust had dispersed into the New York air.

---------------------------------------------

"Hey Ryan," Seth held his cell phone to his ear with his left hand while his right hand held firmly onto the wheel.

"Hey, buddy. How was it?"

"A forty-five minute goodbye. Which is a lot better than I anticipated," Seth told Ryan.

Ryan laughed, "You guys are sickening."

"That's what Summer said," Seth sighed into the phone. "This is gonna be the longest summer of my life."

"And with you calling and complaining about Summer being gone, it will probably be the longest summer of my life too," Ryan joked.

"Funny," Seth snickered, driving onto Interstate 95 to head back to Rhode Island for a long summer without Summer, and then added in after a beat, a little worriedly, "But, seriously… you are gonna answer my calls and let me complain when I need to, right?"


	10. The Seventh Grade Enemy

**Disclaimer: Still not owned by me.**

**A/N: So in an effort to make this story move along a bit faster, I won't be replying to all of the reviews for a few chapters. Too much homework is preventing me from doing so. I hope you all understand and know that I am COMPLETELY thankful for your reviews! They are what motivate me to write faster – even if I do have lots of reading homework to do. Haha.**

**So in respect to that – read, enjoy, and review!**

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

By the middle of June, Summer had come to one conclusion and one conclusion only of her life in New York: Some things were meant to stay secret.

Everything started out great. Living in Manhattan was amazing. She was close enough to Central Park to walk to if she ever needed an escape from the crazy mayhem of the city and she was directly in the center of the universe – in the world's most distinguished and fascinating city – living her college-aged summer at ease.

Summer had traveled to New York in worries and fears. And now, almost a month and half later, she was filled with happiness and success – two things she was more than thrilled to be. The job was phenomenal and everything she dreamed it would be. She was never swamped with work for after-hours and she had just the right amount during the day to keep her occupied and the day moving at a constant pace. Her boss, who was also her professor, was keen on making sure she and Matt learned as much as they worked, making it impossible for either of them to do no wrong. If either of them made a mistake, Dr. Kollete chalked it up to a lesson learnt and moved on.

And the living arrangement with Matt worked out nicely as well. Matt as a roommate was great; he didn't bother her too much and he wasn't completely absent either which made the entire situation doable. Summer had also met a few of Matt's friends on one of her first weekends spent in New York – Hannah (who was Matt's on and off girlfriend from high school, with the 'on' part currently in use), Hannah's friend, Carly, Mark (both one of Matt's best friends and Carly's boyfriend), and John.

John was who Summer classified as her "secret friend." It wasn't that he was embarrassing to be around – although that happened sometimes – or that there was anything ever happening romantically between the two – because Summer was still head over heels in love with Seth – it was just… well… it was an awkward situation.

And it was awkward even in the very beginning of the "group hangouts," as Mark liked to call them, because it was basically a couples-fest. With Mark and Carly already going strong for a year, and Hannah and Matt getting together the weekend after he and Summer left Providence, it left John and Summer to be the awkward third-wheelers.

It wasn't like it was a constant PDA-fest from the others, because it never was. It was just uncomfortable sometimes when they'd be walking through the city and John and Summer were the only ones not holding hands or if they were at a restaurant and the guys would pay for their girlfriend's meals and Summer would have to pull out her own wallet. It was never anything intentional, it was just always something unavoidable.

But that wasn't even the complete reason why John was Summer's "secret friend." The underlying and imperative reasoning why Seth had to be completely hid in the dark about John was because John wasn't just a new friend coming into the picture. He wasn't just a random guy, like Mark, who Summer could just mention on a whim to Seth over their extensive phone calls, without backing herself into a corner of questions.

He was John Deven. The old boyfriend from the seventh grade that threw Seth in the sheep exhibit during Harbor Junior High's class trip to the San Diego Zoo.

Summer recalled the reunion encounter with her former make out partner a month and a half ago very vividly…

"_Hey everyone, this is Summer. Summer, this is… umm… everyone." Matt laughed as he made basic introductions at the Café around the corner from their apartment that first Saturday night._

_Summer smiled and waved innocently, as she stood next to Matt. "Hey."_

_Summer missed Seth. She had cried herself to sleep that Friday night and Matt had never hated that the walls were so thin more than he did in that moment. He hated when people cried. He hated it even more when he knew there was nothing he could do about it. So Matt had called up his friends the next morning, asking if they could call come to meet Summer and try to cheer her up, that way she might be able to adjust easier into life without Seth._

"_I'm Mark," one of the guys stood out of the group and offered his hand. He stood about 5'10 and had jet black hair. "And this is my girlfriend, Carly, her best friend Hannah, and that's John – the guy that's racing towards us right now."_

_John jogged up to the group, bounding between crowds of people and avoiding a run-in with a trash can, as he made his way to his friends._

"_Hey guys!" John greeted happily. "So where's the new one?"_

_Summer turned around and got out of Matt's shadow, "Hi, I'm Summer. Aka the new one," Summer laughed nervously._

_John didn't react at first, he just took a few long stares at her and then at his friends as if questioning them if they had the right girl. Summer felt more than uncomfortable with John's unusual stare and Matt took notice of it._

"_John," Matt smacked his arm, "What the hell is your problem, man?"_

"_Dude," John leaned over to whisper to Matt, still keeping his eyes focused on Summer, "I didn't know Summer was Summer."_

_Summer laughed apprehensively at John's quiet comment. "Umm… well… yeah, I'm Summer."_

_John seemed to snap out of his intense gaze and his smile widen, showing off his two rows of perfectly white and straight teeth. "Summer Roberts, right?"_

_Summer nodded awkwardly, wondering how in the world this guy knew her last name._

"_Summer Roberts from Newport Beach's Harbor Junior High!" John shouted and then engulfed Summer in a bear hug. "Well, Jesus Christ! How the fuck are you?!"_

_Summer stood back stunned. Was she supposed to know this guy?_

"_Umm… good… ah… do I know you?"_

"_Know me?" John laughed. "Of course you do! We made out quite a few times if my memory serves me correctly! And my memory is never one to let me down!"_

"_John!" Both girls shouted at him, causing Summer to look away from John and over at the girls' strict glares._

"_What? We did!" John held his arms up in response and then turned back towards Summer. "You remember, Summer?"_

_Just then, as if everything had suddenly dawned on her, she realized exactly who John was. "John Deven?" John nodded enthusiastically as Summer stood back, stunned that she had managed to run into the only person that Seth would not – even slightly – feel comfortable with her running into._

After the awkwardness had subsided from that reunion encounter, Summer and John had gotten reacquainted – this time as friends only. Summer noticed that John was an all-around American jokester type who did anything for a laugh. He always seemed to be enjoying himself and finding other people who loved to live life on the spontaneous end of everything. John was late to everything, dressed always to impress, and wore a smile wherever he went.

It didn't take long for John to decide to hit on Summer though, and although she didn't want to sound stuck up by it, she kind of expected it. John was one of those people who were never without a girl, and it only made sense that the girl who his best friends hung out with would be the next girl he'd make sure was on his dating list.

"_Hey, Sum?" John had held Summer's arm tight, but not forcefully, stopping her from following the others out of the movie theater._

_Summer turned her head in response, looking a little surprised. "Yeah?"_

"_I wanted to talk to you about something," John started and then pointed to a bench inside the theater's lobby, "Think we can sit over there for a minute?"_

_Summer knew what was coming. She had seen it coming. And now she didn't know how to react. "Ah…," Summer squirmed, "We really should catch up to the others. Maybe another time." Summer tried to walk away from John, but John pulled her arm back, freezing Summer in her spot._

"_I really think we should talk now."_

_Summer didn't want to come off rude – since she was still making friends, after all, she'd only been in New York two weeks – and nodded her head, walking towards the bench with John following her behind, giddily._

"_So…" Summer began as she took a seat, "What do you want to talk about?"_

"_Okay," John tried to wipe the confident grin off his face, "I was just thinking about some things earlier. Like, how awesome you are. And how funny you are. And then I started seeing, like, these images of you. Like you laughing, or smiling, or getting really angry."_

"_Angry?" Summer cut in._

"_Yeah, like that face you made when you found out Matt did your laundry and accidentally ruined your white pants by mixing them in with the jeans."_

"_Oh," Summer smiled sheepishly, "I didn't know you were there."_

"_I had just gotten there. I hid behind the door until you went into your bedroom," John explained. "Anyway, the thing is, you're hott, Summer. And I know you know it. And, well, we're hanging out, like, **all** the time and it would just be really awesome if we could all be actual couples… you know?"_

"_John…" Summer shook her head._

_John shook his head more fiercely, taking his hands and replacing them from his lap to cup Summer's face. "We'd make a great couple, Summer. We already have before and the past is always doomed to repeat itself..."_

_John began moving in towards Summer's lips and closing his eyes when Summer jumped up from the bench, putting a hand over her heart to feel how fast her heartbeat was._

"_John, I have a boyfriend," Summer told him as he stared up at her bewildered. It was clear to see that this type of thing didn't happen too often with him._

"_A boyfriend? How do you have a boyfriend already? You've only been in this city two weeks."_

"_No, I had a boyfriend before I came here. Six years before I came here, actually." Summer felt her face forming into a smile. Even the thought of Seth made her heart start beating a little faster and her face feel warmer than normal temperature._

"_Six years? You've been dating the same guy for six years?" John asked incredulously, finally standing up. Summer only nodded her head in response. "So I guess it's serious, huh?"_

"_Yeah, it is," Summer grinned. "I really love him."_

"_Is this that Seth guy you're always talking to on the phone?"_

"_Yeah, that's him."_

"_Oh," John's face fell. "I thought he was, like, a brother or something."_

_Summer continued smiling. "Nope, he's my boyfriend."_

"_Okay, then." John replied, letting the smile return to his lips. "How about we go catch up to the others?"_

_Summer was about to follow John before she stopped, feeling her phone vibrate in her hands. She took it out and saw Seth's number on the caller-id. "Actually, I'll be right out." Summer waved her phone at him as explanation and he nodded, walking through the theater's doors out into New York's summer air._

"_Hey," Summer flipped open her phone, greeting her boyfriend with a beaming smile and warm voice. "I was just thinking about you…"_

Seth and Summer talked all the time. They used the phone as a replacement for the times they couldn't be there, and up until the middle of June, that was all the time. Seth had yet to plan a getaway to New York for a weekend to visit Summer and Summer hadn't managed to go back to Providence to stay with Seth. Their jobs were taking a toll on their lives seven days a week, only leaving nights and some Sundays available. With Seth working both his law job and part-time at the comic store, he really hadn't been able to arrange a surprise visit to Manhattan like he had hoped to for the past six weeks.

So instead they each spent at least an hour on the phone each day, maybe more depending on how much extra time they were allotted that day. Some people, including Seth's friend Nick, thought spending an hour on the phone each day was obsessive. In many ways it could be seen as such, but given the fact that Seth and Summer had been together day in and day out for almost the past six years and then living with each other for the past two, it wasn't difficult to see that an hour each day was actually only a small amount of time to spend talking to the single person who had always been around and now couldn't be.

Summer and Seth were doing great in their relationship, considering the circumstances. Seth wasn't freaking out and Summer wasn't feeling insecure or worried. Everything couldn't have been better and Summer didn't want to ruin it.

And that's exactly why she refused to tell Seth about John in the first place. She knew she was avoiding the inevitable – that eventually Seth would make time to come visit in New York and he'd meet all of her new friends that she talked about and that then he and John would meet, thus causing an uproar from Seth (because Seth never forgot a water polo face that wronged him in the past) – but she couldn't help it. She didn't want to fall into an unnecessary argument over something as insignificant as John was to her.

Summer was jolted from her over-analytical thoughts as her cell phone's ringtone rang out through the tiny apartment. She raced into the kitchen where she had left her phone, knowing it Seth calling for their daily chat.

"Cohen!" Summer answered without looking at the caller-id.

"Cohen?" a voice, that was clearly not Seth's, asked. "What the hell is a Cohen?"

"Nothing," Summer fussed. "What's going on?"

"Bar. Tonight. You in?"

"Who else is going?" Summer always asked this question now, mostly because she was afraid to be alone with John at a bar – cause drunk John was always a bit rowdy and slightly forceful – and because she didn't want anyone thinking anything that could be clearly interpreted as the wrong idea. Not that Summer ever thought anything in New York would get back to Seth in Providence but there was always the smallest percentage of possibility that something would backfire on her, ruining her happiness.

"Hannah said she'd go. And she's gonna bring a new girl. Hopefully new date material," John laughed.

Summer laughed as well, feeling a bit more at ease. "Of course I'll go. What time?"

"I'll swing by your apartment at nine. Ask Matt if he wants to join us, okay?"

"All right," Summer answered. "See you."

"Later. And I hope you get your call about your Cohen thing. You seemed pretty enthused and then extremely let down when you found out it was only me," John joked on the other end of the line.

"Bye, John," Summer laughed, hanging up the phone.

Just as Summer was putting down her phone, it started ringing in her hands once again, and this time she checked the caller-id and saw Seth's number flashing.

"Cohen," Summer sighed happily. "I was waiting for you to call."

"I just got out of work. I'm walking to my car as we speak," Seth paused and Summer swore she could hear him stop mid-step miles away in Providence. "I love you."

"That's quite the greeting," Summer laughed.

"Well, I figured saying it at the end of our conversation is so over-used that I might try something new. Work a new routine into our old routine."

Summer smiled into the phone, "It's not routine yet if it hasn't been used before."

"I just used it."

"Doesn't count, Cohen."

"Says who?"

"Says me."

"And somehow that makes everything right and lawful?"

"Not lawful, but definitely right."

Summer laughed as Seth joined in and they continued their usual, annoying but loving banter for the next hour and half.


	11. The New York Reunion

**Disclaimer: FOX only owns it for about two more weeks – maybe I'll get the rights to it then? Haha.**

**A/N: Dwindling reviews? Yeah, they make me nervous. I'll see how this one goes and assess what to do next.**

**Thanks to the people who do review. I really appreciate it – even if I haven't been able to write back a response lately. (College is tough. Who knew?)**

**Read, enjoy, and review! Please?**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"So guess who is getting their wisdom teeth removed on July 9th and will be incapable of working until the 15th due to being heavily medicated on painkillers," Seth greeted Summer on their first day of July's phone date.

"You're getting your wisdom teeth out?" Summer answered, surprised. "I thought you had 'perfect teeth that were never to be fussed with'?" She imitated one of Seth's past self-confident phrases.

Seth laughed lightly into the phone. "Oh, I do. They should never be fussed with. Although," He added in, "I don't think 'fussed' was my original word choice if that was you trying to quote me."

"Whatever," Summer scoffed. "Doesn't matter. Either way it's not true if you're getting your wisdom teeth removed."

"Maybe I should clarify –to everyone at _Peabody & Sheehan _I'm getting my wisdom teeth out. To _you_ I am coming to visit for six days."

"No, you're not!" Summer squealed excitedly in a valley girl tone. "Oh my God! Cohen!"

"So, I can't tell… are you excited?" Seth joked, laughing as he did so.

"Cohen, that's only, like, a week away! I'm gonna see you in a week? Oh my God, Cohen, I'm gonna see you in a week! What do you want to do? Anything? Like, there is so much around here to see and do and I can literally think of a _million_ things but if you just wanna hang around that'd be awesome. Oh my God. I really miss you. You're coming in a week!"

Seth laughed full-heartedly into the phone as Summer rambled on. Sometimes nothing made Seth happier than to hear an excited Summer ramble – a habit he knowingly rubbed off onto her throughout the years.

"Sum…" Seth began. "It doesn't matter what we do. I just want to spend time with you. Doing whatever. Although, I do want to meet your new friends."

Summer's excitement died down instantly. Somehow she forgot that the whole John Deven issue would ruffle some feathers while Seth was in town visiting her. "Oh, right. Yeah… yeah, of course."

"Don't sound too enthused," Seth chuckled. "Do you not want me to meet them? Still ashamed of me after all these years?"

Summer ignored Seth's sarcasm, taking it for the question it actually was, "No, no, that's not it. I just want to spend as much time with you as possible. I see my friends around here all the time but I haven't seen you in almost two months."

"I know, and I'm thinking the same thing but I still want to meet them, Sum. Just to see who's looking after you while I'm not there."

Summer smirked into the phone, "Cute, Cohen."

"I try," Seth flirted back.

Summer sighed, as the realization of the upcoming reunion being tainted by the introduction of John began to sink in. Seth heard her sigh and tried to comfort her, not knowing what she was exactly sighing about.

"Look, I'm not saying we spend my entire visit with them, or even a whole day. Just a dinner or something."

"Yeah, that's fine."

"You sure? You don't sound fine."

Summer tried to ignore her incessant rumblings in her brain as she focused on staying happy about Seth's visit – because she was really happy that she was going to see him rather than talk to him through a six inch long metal device, "Seriously," Summer perked up. "It's a great idea. I can't wait for them to finally meet you."

"Awesome," Seth replied enthusiastically, after hearing Summer's excited tone return to her voice. "Now, what were those ideas you had in mind? Cause I was hoping for some intense bedroom action for _at least_ the first two days…"

"Cohen!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summer had woken up extremely early on July 9th to clean up the apartment. Matt had thought the apartment looked fine as it was and thus refused to help Summer clean, instead opting for a few more hours of sleep before they had to be in to work. Summer had decided that she was going into work until after lunch that day, and then _suddenly_ come down with some sort of flu bug that would make her incapable of working for the rest of the afternoon and Friday. She still wasn't sure how she was going to swing a sickness that lasted through Monday and Tuesday that wouldn't seem fatal, but she was determined to do anything to spend more time with Seth so she wasn't over-analyzing that.

Seth was not set to arrive in New York until close to three that afternoon, so after Summer's lunch and pretending to be sick (while Matt laughed in the background realizing just how terrible of an actress Summer was), she didn't know what to do to occupy her time for the next two hours. Summer had already cleaned the entire apartment that morning, bought enough food that overflowed from the refrigerator and cabinets, and had chosen her outfits strategically to both impress Seth and make him kick himself for not coming to visit her earlier. She was completely ready and waiting impatiently for Seth to arrive, so she did the only thing she ever did when she got like this in New York.

She went to Central Park.

It always amazed her that hundreds of people, no matter what time of what day, were scattered throughout the Park. Whether they were running to the own beat of their iPod music or walking a dog with a plastic bag in tote, she never really realized the amount of leisure this Park saw day in and day out.

It wasn't until Summer first came to New York that she saw the real New Yorkers of Manhattan – not the tourists that flowed through mid-town and downtown. Uptown was different. Uptown was filled with both Park Avenue penthouse apartment owners, living life at ease, and graduate students, living like sardines in a tiny studio apartment. Uptown Manhattan showed the side of New York that people only saw when they were given the chance to live there themselves – the real, working, and completely laid-back visions of the upper west and east side.

Summer hadn't noticed the amount of time that had gone by as she walked on Central Park East – the street bordering the calm tranquility of the Park and colliding it with the loud, busy street that was 5th Ave – until she heard many honks from a quite a few number of cars and a faint voice that seemed to be shouting her name.

As Summer twirled around in recognition of hearing her name, she saw Seth bounding towards her – and also noticed his car being stranded on the side of the street, blocking on-coming traffic from getting through at a timely pace.

"Summer!" Seth yelled as he ran, picking up his pace as much as he could without falling as a result of the cobblestone sidewalk.

"Cohen," Summer spoke quietly to herself, smiling in response. She walked quickly towards him, very aware that cobblestones would make her fall in the flip-flops she wore on her feet that morning.

Seth, who also wore a huge grin across his face and was breathing erratically, held his arms open as he approached Summer and she jumped into his waiting arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck for support. Summer kissed Seth all over, not just limiting herself to his mouth, refreshing her memory of Seth's skin and contours of his face. Seth seemed to be thinking the same thing as his lips searched Summer's entire face, finding a new area to caress with his kisses.

"God," Seth mumbled, still trying to catch his breath. "You have _no_ idea how much I've missed you."

Summer pulled away, keeping her hands steady on either side of his neck, looking deep into his brown eyes that matched her own, which were now glistening with tears. "Oh, I think I do. I've missed you, Cohen."

"You don't have to miss me anymore. I'm here now," Seth beamed as he continued to hold Summer up by her bottom, with her legs wrapping around his waist.

"I know," Summer replied, leaning her forehead against his and ignoring the mumbles and grunts of random passer-bys. "I love you."

"I'm here two minutes and we're already that sap happy couple. What are we gonna do with ourselves?"

Summer laughed and then, as if letting it dawn on her, she stopped and quickly asked Seth, "How did you see me through this mess of people?"

Seth only smiled in return for a few moments, making Summer's lips to continue to curl in a confused manner. "Come on, Sum. Any time, any day, anywhere. You _know_ I can always pick you out of a crowd."

Summer crashed her lips upon Seth's, savoring the love she felt in the heat of his mouth, hardly analyzing the amount of time she went without feeling this way.

The honks grew louder and fiercer, and with the addition of a police siren, Seth and Summer broke apart unwillingly, directing their attention to the noise that interrupted them.

"Fuck," Seth swore under his breath when he saw two police men standing at the front of his car.

Summer jumped down from his arms, locking her left hand with his right one, as Seth guided them towards his stranded car.

"Hey!" Seth shouted at the police men. "Hey!" Seth let go of Summer's hand and made his way to his car, standing next to the police men. "What's going on?"

"Is this your car, sir?"

"Yes."

"Then here's your ticket." One of the police men ripped the piece of paper off of the pad and thrust it into Seth's hand. "You have thirty days to contest it or there will be a warrant out for your arrest. Have a good day."

The police men walked off back to their car, as Seth muttered to himself, "Oh yes, have a fucking good day to you too." Seth then looked down at the price on the ticket while Summer looked on from his side. "Holy shit! Seven hundred and fifty dollars! How the fuck am I gonna pay that?"

Summer wrapped her arms around Seth's right one that was holding the ticket to comfort him, "It doesn't matter, Seth. You're here." Seth looked down at her smile and instantly his angry demeanor faded. He kissed the top of her forehead and Summer leaned into his body further as people continued to honk all around them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well, hey there, man!" Matt got up from his place next to Hannah on the couch. "We were wondering when you were gonna get here!"

Seth and Summer entered the apartment and, much to Summer's dismay and shock, all of her friends were stuffed into the infinitesimal apartment's living room.

"What're you all doing here?" Summer looked on at the five people's faces incredulously – John Deven's face the most – then directing her glare at Matt. "Matt?"

"I… umm… well, I just thought…" Matt began to get flustered. "It was Carly's idea!"

"What?" Carly asked surprised. "Oh, well, I mentioned it but…"

"Hey," Seth interrupted the tension. "It's okay." Seth looked towards Summer with a smile and squeezed her arm in comfort, "It's really okay."

Summer smiled uncomfortably back, "No, I know. It's just… it was unexpected that's all."

Seth nodded in response and then refocused his attention back on the group, "So… hello." Seth waved. "I'm Seth."

"Hey," Mark stood up, with Carly following closely behind. "I'm Mark and this is my girlfriend, Carly." Seth smiled and shook both of their hands as Summer stood to the side of Seth, gnawing nervously on her fingernails.

"John," John looked up from the couch to introduce himself and held out his hand for Seth to shake. "How you doing, man?"

"Awesome, thanks," Seth replied. For a few short moments Summer closed her eyes, anticipating the worst, but nothing came. When she opened her eyes, she noticed a faint look of thought etched across John's face but Seth's only held happiness as he turned to the other girl he had still yet to meet.

"I'm Hannah, Matt's girlfriend," Hannah held her hand out to shake Seth's.

"I'm glad Matt got a girlfriend here," Seth told her, laughing. "It made me less nervous." Seth took a quick glance at Summer, who gave him an anxious smile in return, still chewing on her left hand's nails.

All of Summer's friends laughed and Seth beamed ear to ear, grabbing a hold of Summer's waist, pulling her closer. Summer smiled, starting to feel at ease about neither Seth nor John recognizing each other when John jumped up from the couch, pointing at Seth.

"Seth! Seth Cohen!" John bellowed. "No _fucking_ way!"

Everyone turned around in astonishment at John's proclamation as Summer groaned quietly, putting her head in her hands. Seth, frighten slightly at John's declaration, blinked and took turns turning his head between John and Summer.

"Umm… excuse me?" Seth questioned John.

John ignored him and went over to stand next to Summer, catching her eyes. "Wow. Never in a million years would I have thought you'd turn to geeks. I sure did a number on you back in the seventh grade, huh?" John winked, slightly punching Summer in the arm.

"What?" Seth spoke up.

"Hey, I'm John. John Deven," John held out a hand for a bewildered Seth to shake. "And you're Seth Cohen."

Seth's face wore a look of befuddlement as he took it all in, realizing who exactly John was. "You're John Deven? From Harbor Junior High?"

"Yeah, you remember me?"

"Umm, yeah," Seth answered, disorientated. "I'm actually surprised you remember me."

"No one forgets Caleb Nichol's grandson. You're… like… the _heir_ to Goddamn Newport Beach!"

"I guess that's one way to look at it," Seth mumbled to himself as he felt his confidence backing down.

John turned his attention back to Summer, "Well, now I understand why you turned to him. Gotta find someone with money to fall back on."

Summer scrunched up her face in disgust, "Ew! I'm not shallow, John! I love him!"

"Yeah, yeah…" John waved Summer off, looking back towards Seth. "What was that name people used to call you?" John snapped his fingers and looked towards the ceiling. "Damnit, it's on the tip of my tongue!"

"I don't know what you're -" Seth started but John immediately interrupted him.

"_Death Breath Seth_!"

Seth looked at John with a blank stare, finally able to form sentences after a few lingering moments, "Wow. Okay. No one's called me that since… like… the eighth grade."

John's eyes protruded out of their sockets showing his shock, "You sure? Cause everyone used to love that nickname!"

"Yeah. _Pretty_ sure," Seth sneered.

"John," Summer spoke up once again. "Can you just, like… lay off?"

"What?" John asked unfazed.

"It doesn't matter," Seth told Summer a little bitingly. "Just like it didn't matter if you told me that you were hanging out with John Deven." Seth pushed himself through the silent, small crowd of people gathered in the undersized living room towards the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

"You're such an asshole, John," Summer told him tartly as she moved swiftly to the bathroom. "Cohen! Open up!" Summer banged on the door. "Cohen!"

"Dude," Mark shook his head at John. "_Completely_ unnecessary, man."

John rolled his eyes as he returned to his seat on the couch, ignoring Summer's shouts. "What does everyone want to watch on the TV?"

"Cohen! Open up this fucking door right now or I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"Right," Seth scoffed loudly from the other side. "Cause right now you're in the _perfect_ position to be threatening me."

"Seth Cohen! Now!"

Seth opened the door with a stern look upon his face, letting Summer in, and slamming it shut once again. More shouts were heard from the bathroom as everyone returned to their seats, shrugging their shoulders.

"Anything's fine by me," Hannah finally replied John's unanswered question. "Just… you know… turn up the volume a bit."

John did so willingly, drowning out the yells from Seth and Summer that were protruding through the thin walls of the apartment.


	12. The Jury Duty

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reassuring reviews. I think for the time being I'll keep this story going but I don't know for how long. It still depends on the responses I get. Either way though, all my reviewers have been amazing and I thank you!**

**So we had a snow day here in New York City and since I didn't have any homework to do and couldn't will myself out of my dorm room to go get food, I decided to write! Lucky readers you are!**

**Also, this chapter has a bit more of a PG-13esque air to it, so if you're extremely offended, please be aware that I warned you and you can feel free to skip and still not miss anything in the plot.**

**Anyway – read, enjoy, and review!**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"So what is it, Summer?" Seth yelled after letting Summer in and then slamming the door once again. "What the hell do you have to tell me now? Is Luke back in the picture too? How about Brad? Got another kissing booth he wants your help in?"

"Stop being ridiculous. This is exactly why I didn't tell you!"

"Oh, so it's my fault you lied?"

"I didn't lie!" Summer stood up for herself. "I didn't lie at all! I told you all my friends' names and I told you what they were like!"

"Yeah, but you didn't tell me that you made out with one of them!"

Summer rolled her eyes and then screamed, "When I was thirteen! Before you and I had ever even had a single conversation together!"

"It doesn't fucking matter, Summer! You kept vital information from me!"

Summer scoffed, lowering her voice, "I would hardly call this vital."

"To me it is!"

"Will you just lower your voice like, a notch? These walls aren't concrete you know."

Seth fell back onto the covered toilet seat and put his head into his hands. Summer watched him for a moment, digesting the most recent events and harsh words throw at one another.

"Seth, I'm sorry," Summer knelt on the floor in front of him. "Come on, let's just get over this and have a good weekend."

Seth looked up from his hands, making eye contact with Summer, not being able to hide the glistening tears welling up in his eyes. Summer noticed this and gathered his hands in hers, rubbing his knuckles with her thumbs and opened up her mouth to say something, but Seth beat her to it.

"He thinks I'm a geek, Summer. He thinks I'm a worthless, idiotic geek that doesn't deserve you."

"You _do_ deserve me. We deserve each other."

"That's not it. John Deven embodies everything I hated about Newport. And I wanted to come out to the East coast to get away from all that. I hated that time of my life. I _hated_ it. It was hell. I don't want to ever be reminded of it again and I definitely don't want you to hear about how you shouldn't be with a worthless person like me. I wanna be everything to you, Summer. I wanna make you happy."

Summer, at Seth's heart-wrenching speech, began to notice the tears that were starting to graze her cheeks. Seth wiped them away, continuing in a whisper, "And I don't want to make you cry."

Summer shook her head forcefully; wiping the remainder of her tears herself. "You _are_ everything to me. I don't think any less of you just because there's this guy in other room who, _in the seventh grade_, used to call you some stupid, pathetic name to make himself look tougher. Things like that don't matter to me anymore. And if you really think I'm gonna change my mind about being with you after six years all because some guy I made out with eight years ago thinks you're a loser than you really don't know me like I thought you did."

"I know," Seth sighed returning his face to his hands and mumbling, "I just get worried."

Summer stared at him for a few moments, trying to figure out how she could make Seth feel better. How she could convince him that nothing John Deven or any other possible water polo player from their past said or did should scare him. She also wanted to show Seth that he was a better man than any guy like that could ever be, and show him that he was plenty well off regardless of the fact that his past tried to prove otherwise.

So, Summer concluded, she could only do what she always tried to refrain from doing in front of all of her friends.

She'd have a very public – and hott – make out session, leading Seth through the hallway in front of her friends and then into the bedroom leaving very little to the imagination for what was going to happen behind the closed door.

Summer pulled Seth's hands away from his face abruptly, pulling him up as she stood quickly. Seth gave Summer a questioning look, but before his words could catch up to his stares, Summer's mouth was on his in a lustful kiss, delving her tongue deep into his mouth. Seth held onto her waist for stability and then Summer slammed her own back against the closed door, grabbing Seth's shirt collar making him collide into her body. Seth removed his hands from her waist and put them on the door making them stay level with Summer's head. Summer, now letting Seth search her neck with his mouth, decided to intensify things more as she gripped at the bottom of Seth's shirt, pulling it over his head. Seth took one of his hands from the door, reaching down to pull Summer's shirt over her own head, revealing her purple-padded and laced bra, as Summer held a tight grip on the door handle.

After years of making out with Seth and countless times of knowing when the make out was to lead to sex, Summer knew when Seth got to the point of no return; knowing he couldn't stop no matter what the circumstance. So when Seth brought his mouth down to the valley of Summer's breasts, Summer jumped up, linking her legs around Seth's waist and her arms gripping the back of Seth's neck, and twisted the knob to let the door go.

Seth wasn't fazed at all by the door opening; he held his grip instead on Summer's butt, carrying her haphazardly into the hallway. Summer on the other hand, heard loud gasps and a few "Oh my Gods" as Seth stumbled Summer up against her bedroom door, pushing her into it, still kissing her chest's skin. Summer kept her eyes closed, focusing on the feel of Seth's tongue roaming her skin, and let her head fall back in ecstasy, forgetting for a few moments longer than she had planned to reach for her bedroom door's handle. She finally grabbed a hold of it and pushed that door open as well, letting Seth carry her inside as she slammed the door closed with her foot.

Seth fell on top of her onto the bed, moving down to her belt buckle, trying to undo it. Seth looked up for a moment, taking in the surroundings, and stole a gaze at Summer in her ragged and heated breaths with her eyes closed, savoring the feeling of Seth's fingertips grazing her mid-drift skin.

"How did we get in here?" Seth asked suddenly, jolting Summer momentarily out of her arousal.

Summer looked down at Seth, who was still trying to undo her buckle, but having more difficulty than usual because he was staring up into her eyes. "Doesn't matter, Cohen." Summer reached down, undoing her buckle for him and removing her pants, also pushing his down in the same process. She then reached for his face, bringing it up to hers and whispered into his ear. "Nothing matters. I just want you."

Seth didn't waste any time in giving Summer what she wanted.

Summer smiled to herself as Seth continued caressing her skin, knowing she had just made Seth look like the hot-shot he had always wanted to emulate and, at the same time, was about to engage in the exercise activity she had missed the most since her move to New York.

And Summer held onto Seth tighter realizing nothing really did matter at that moment than just she and Seth. And they loved each other. And that, above all else, they were gonna be all right.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seth woke up the next morning with an arm draped over an unrecognizable back of a girl's naked waist. His eyes jerked open, at first thinking he had done the unthinkable – cheating on Summer after a drunken night – and then as soon as he saw silky, dark brown hair grazing down the back of the girl's shoulders and smelled both the familiar and extremely missed scent of his girlfriend, he sighed with relief. Seth removed his hand and pushed an area of hair that was covering her shoulder away so he could leave a trail of kisses on her shoulder blade. Summer stirred under Seth's touch but remained in a state of deep sleep, so Seth decided to leave her peacefully, opting to get out of bed and search for his clothes. He grabbed his boxers, smiling to himself as he remembered the night's numerous and repetitive activities, and then, after not finding his shirt, left the room quietly.

Matt was sitting at the kitchen counter eating toast and reading while, Seth immediately noticed, a body lay awkwardly on the couch holding the TV remote in one hand and a piece of toast in the other. Seth paused for a moment, finally seeing that the aforementioned body belonged to John, and Seth scratched his head and scrunched up his face trying to figure out what he was still doing there.

John leaned his head up finally noticing Seth's appearance and nodded, "Morning, man."

Seth nodded and Matt turned in his seat, smiling towards him, "Hey. You hungry?"

Seth walked over to the counter, trying to ignore John all-together. "Yeah. What do you got?"

"Well there's toast," Matt began. "And… umm… well, just toast really. But we have butter or peanut butter so that's like two different breakfast meals in itself."

"Toast sounds awesome."

"So," John spoke up, rising from the couch, "Late night last night, huh? Burned a lot of calories with the evening's activities, I presume?" John snickered and winked in Seth's direction.

Seth looked at him astonished for a moment and then regained his composure. "Yeah, yeah. It was definitely good."

"Great. Make-up sex is always amazing."

"Right…," Seth dragged out.

"So," John started again after a few more moments of silence, "Was Summer, like, your first girlfriend?"

"No," Seth answered tartly. "Actually she wasn't."

John moved to the counter and ignored the death glares Matt was sending him, who was trying to plead with him to refrain from continuing. "Oh. Wow. Did you… like… get _popular_ when I left?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Seth lied. He didn't know why he decided to lie, but he didn't have time to analyze it as John kept on probing him with questions.

"Like, who did you hang out with?"

"Luke Ward," Seth answered confidently. "Yeah, we were pretty good friends."

"Really?" John asked in disbelief, remembering his former blonde haired fellow water polo player. "That's… just… wow. Huh."

Seth smiled confidently to himself as he chewed on a piece of toast. Suddenly, Summer came out with an over-sized shirt and her hair completely tousled, holding Seth's phone in her hand.

"Cohen, its Ryan," Summer waved the phone in her hands before handing it to him.

"Thanks," Seth stood up taking the phone and then kissing Summer's forehead. "I'll be right back." Seth walked off back into the bedroom and shut the door as Summer took Seth's place at the counter, finishing his leftover toast.

John cleared his throat and began talking, "So Seth got popular in high school, huh? Never would have pegged that. I mean, he was a _huge_ dork."

"I don't care, John. And Seth didn't get popular – I just realized being shallow wasn't worth losing a chance at having a relationship with him."

John brightened up at Summer's mention of Seth not being popular. "What about Luke Ward?"

"What about him? He continued shaving his chest and playing water polo."

"Was Seth friends with him?"

"I guess. I don't know. After his dad turned gay he kind of was friends with anybody."

"Luke Ward has a gay dad?!" John laughed loudly. "No fucking way!"

"Yeah," Summer stood up to get a glass of orange juice. "What's with all the questions?"

"Nothing. Seth just said he was friends with Luke so I was just checking."

Summer stopped pouring the juice and looked John squarely in the eye as Matt stood beside her. "Look, Cohen's not a liar. So if he was friends with Luke then he was. Stop beating up on him. We're not in seventh grade anymore."

"He said he was popular. You just said he wasn't. That sounds like a lie to me," John snorted.

"Well," Summer tried to cover up for Seth, "After Ryan came he was."

"Who's Ryan?"

"Seth's brother."

"Seth has a brother? How old is he?"

"Our age."

"That's impossible."

"No. It's adoption."

"They adopted a brother for Seth?" John laughed. "Isn't that pathetic?"

"He's from Chino. Seth's dad was his lawyer and ended up taking him in and adopting him."

"Still sounds pathetic."

Summer slammed down her glass on the table. "What the hell is your problem?"

John rolled his eyes. "Summer, calm down. I'm just trying to understand the situation."

"The situation? You want the situation? All right, well here it is: Ryan came, he and Seth became best friends. Marissa Cooper – you remember her? – became interested in Ryan and broke up with Luke for him. Since I hung out with Marissa and Marissa hung out with Ryan and Ryan hung out with Seth, I ended up hanging out with Seth and eventually falling for him. Then Seth got a girlfriend. I tried to break them up. Eventually it worked and Seth and I got together. And the four of us became this group of friends and through random and meaningless break-ups, we always came back to each other. Then we graduated and Marissa died in a car accident and that ended. But me and Seth stayed together because I finally realized that staying with him and being happy made more sense than anything in the entire world ever did. So that's the situation. And that's all the details you need to know." Summer began making her way back to her room, but before she could end her perfect blow-up by slamming the door, Seth opened the door, this time his naked torso was covered with a light blue t-shirt.

"Hey," Seth looked down, surprised to see Summer there. "Ryan just wanted to check in… What's wrong?"

Summer's eyes clouded with tears that had yet to fall and pushed her body into Seth's, wrapping her arms around his torso. "I love you."

"I love you too," Seth replied back, looking from Summer's head to Matt and John over by the kitchen. Matt tried to busy himself with other things while John chewed on more toast, shrugging his shoulders in response to Seth's questioning glances.

After a few moments, John stood up, wiping his hands on his shirt. "All right. I'm gonna head out. Work in an hour… But, bar tonight? Maybe?"

"Maybe," Matt scowled. "See you later, John."

"Bye!" John walked out the door happily, letting it slam in his wake.

Summer gazed up at Seth, who still looked confused. "Let's get ready. I wanna do something fun today."

Seth nodded weakly, following Summer back into the bedroom, sending questioning glances towards Matt. Matt only responded with a mouthed "Don't worry about it, man," before Seth closed the door to get ready for the day that lay ahead.


	13. The Karaoke

**Disclaimer: Alas, I did not wake up this morning and discover I was Josh Schwartz. Which a pity really because then I could at least find some way to keep the show from ending.**

**A/N: My college has a President's Day Break (which, apparently, is not true for most United States' colleges and universities) so that means I've had the weekend off and will have tomorrow, Tuesday, and Wednesday off. And I'm currently back at my house for this break which also means that no friends are around to keep me occupied. So I'll try writing a bit more. We'll see what actually ends up happening.**

**Still not sure what's gonna go on with the story - whether I'll end it soon or not. The verdict is still out on that one. I'm still in my wait-and-see period so stay tuned.**

**Read, enjoy, and review.**

**Like always. :)**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Summer and Seth had spent the day in mid-town Manhattan, checking out the obvious tourist sites – Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden, Chrysler Building, and Grand Central Station. Both Seth and Summer had ignored the issues that had gone on the night before and earlier that morning, instead choosing to enjoy their time together knowing it would come to an end soon enough.

That afternoon, as they were sitting down to a café on 8th Ave, Summer's phone started ringing.

"It's Matt," Summer held it up and told Seth, then opening it as Seth nodded. "Hey Matt."

"Hey – you and Seth got plans tonight?"

"Umm… I'm not sure. Why?"

"A bunch of us are gonna go to a karaoke bar. We definitely want you and Seth in – that is if you guys aren't doing anything else."

"A karaoke bar?" Summer questioned, quickly receiving a firm head shake signaling no from Seth. "Sure, sounds great. What time?" Seth groaned, letting his head fall limply down to his chest.

"We're leaving at nine. Meet us at the apartment at eight-thirty."

"Okay. See you," Summer smiled, snapping her phone shut. "Cohen, it will be fun!"

"What? Me embarrassing myself or… me embarrassing myself?" Seth answered his girlfriend sarcastically.

"You embarrassing yourself," Summer giggled. "Come on, I'll be embarrassing myself too so we'll be in it together." Seth didn't grace her with a response so she continued. "I've always wanted to do something like this, Cohen. Plus, you can just get yourself drunk and everything will be fun!"

"Getting drunk sounds like a good idea," Seth stood up, letting his arm hang down to help Summer out of her seat and she took his hand. "But no one's getting me to do karaoke."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"_Finally I figured out  
But it took a long, long time  
But now there's a turnabout  
Maybe 'cause I'm trying…"_

Summer laughed loudly, trying to gasp for air as Seth stood on the stage singing his heart out.

"…_There's been times, I'm so confused  
All my roads, They lead to you  
I just can't turn and walk away…"_

Summer and Seth had gone to "Karaoke 56" along with Matt, Hannah, Mark, Carly, John, and John's date of the moment. Summer couldn't even remember her name. They all had already been there for the past two hours and with enough alcohol already in Seth's system, Seth thought it would be a great idea if he got up and sang a song for Summer. He declared that Summer would have to do it too after he did and that the song had to have been from the 90s and upbeat so that things could be kept light. Summer was sure Seth hadn't a clue what he was talking about.

"…_It's hard to say what it is I see in you  
Wonder if I'll always be with you  
But words can't say, And I can't do  
Enough to prove,  
It's all for you…"_

Summer was a little drunk too. She laughed and she smiled and waved wildly at her boyfriend as he belted out the words – sometimes the wrong words – in pitches no one should ever have to hear in their lifetime.

"…_I thought I'd seen it all  
'Cause it's been a long, long time  
But then we'll trip and fall  
Wondering if I'm blind…  
There's been times, I'm so confused  
All my roads, They lead to you  
I just can't turn and walk away…"_

Seth gripped the microphone tightly against his chest, slurring the words a bit as he tried to read the monitor as the words appeared on the screen faster.

"…_It's hard to say what it is I see in you  
Wonder if I'll always be with you  
But words can't say, And I can't do  
Enough to prove,  
It's all for you…"_

Seth pointed to Summer continuously throughout the song, beaming from ear to ear, sometimes ignoring the words altogether and instead shouting, rather loudly, "I love you, Summer Roberts!" Summer blushed, as the girls of the table 'awed' and guys of the table groaned.

"…_Rain comes pouring down  
Falling from blue skies  
Words without a sound  
Coming from your eyes…  
Finally I figured out  
But it took a long, long time  
But now there's a turnabout  
Maybe cause I'm trying…"_

Summer knew Seth would regret this in the morning. She knew he'd be embarrassed and not want to look any of her friends' in the face ever again. But for the moment he was happy and she was happy and everything was going swimmingly.

"…_There's been times, I'm so confused  
All my roads, They lead to you  
I just can't turn and walk away…  
It's hard to say what it is I see in you  
Wonder if I'll always be with you  
But words can't say, And I can't do  
Enough to prove,  
It's all for you…  
It's hard to say what it is I see in you  
Wonder if I'll always be with you  
But words can't say, And I can't do  
Enough to prove,  
It's all for you…  
It's hard to say  
It's hard to say  
It's all for Summerrrr!"_

Seth ended his song, replacing the song's actual last word for Summer's name, and threw the microphone at the DJ and raced down to Summer, gathering her in his arms and swinging her around.

"Baby, that was _amazing_!" Summer shouted.

"Did you like it? I added my own style in at the end," Seth grinned, still holding Summer up in his arms.

"I _loved_ it!" Summer kissed him. "You're a natural!"

"I am, aren't I?" Seth resumed the kiss, slowly letting Summer down from his arms, thus breaking the kiss. "Now it's your turn!"

"Oh, no," Summer shook her head. "No, no."

"You promised!"

"I didn't!"

"Summerrr," Seth whined. "Do it for me?"

Seth gave her the most pitiful pout he could muster up and Summer couldn't say no to him. Not after he had just made a complete fool of himself up on stage in front of at least fifty strangers. Summer sighed dramatically and turned towards the stage as Seth slapped her butt lovingly, urging her forward faster. Summer smirked over her shoulder as Seth took her now empty seat, waiting anxiously for her to start.

Summer hadn't had enough alcohol to fully embarrass herself willingly, so she grabbed another shot of vodka and downed it as she flipped through the book of songs. Suddenly, she pointed at one and the DJ nodded as Summer bit her lip, waiting anxiously for the first chords of the song to play.

Seth, who was still grinning wildly, frowned when he heard the twang of country music fill the bar. "Country? _Country_, Summer? Have I taught you _nothing_?!"

Summer laughed waiting for the words on the screen ahead to appear.

"_I don't want another heartbreak  
I don't need another turn to cry  
I don't want to learn the hard way  
Baby, hello, oh, no, goodbye  
But you got me like a rocket  
Shooting straight across the sky…"_

Summer stumbled over a few words that were moving at a quicker pace than she remembered and she looked over to see Seth smiling once again. She really did have the most beautiful boyfriend in the world.

"…_It's the way you love me  
It's a feeling like this  
It's centrifugal motion  
It's perpetual bliss  
It's that pivotal moment  
It's impossible  
This kiss, this kiss (Unstoppable)   
This kiss, this kiss…"_

As Summer sang the words, Seth looked at her dazed; her hair swinging in the way of the small fan built for a small room rather than a bar, her eyes glistening under the glare of the spotlight, her tiny and thin fingers gripping the microphone tightly. Seth didn't think he could ever find a girlfriend more beautiful than Summer. And he never wanted to.

"…_Cinderella said to Snow White  
How does love get so off course  
All I wanted was a white knight  
With a good heart, soft touch, fast horse  
Ride me off into the sunset  
**Cohen**, I'm forever yours…"_

Summer laughed as she replaced the word 'baby' for 'Cohen,' fumbling with the words and giggling under the spotlight. The alcohol was definitely starting to have an effect on her as well.

"…_It's the way you love me  
It's a feeling like this  
It's centrifugal motion  
It's perpetual bliss  
It's that pivotal moment   
It's unthinkable  
This kiss, this kiss (Unsinkable)  
This kiss, this kiss…"_

Seth looked over to the other members of the table quickly, just to make sure they were all there, and he noticed John's face as he stared up at Summer. He was sure it matched his own look of admiration – like Summer was the most beautiful and flawless creature on the planet who could do no wrong. John's date seemed to be trying to get his attention but he kept shooing her away, keeping his eyes intently locked on Summer's swaying body. Seth turned back, trying not to let his smile falter, as he beamed back up at his girlfriend and the words she was singing to him.

"…_You can kiss me in the moonlight  
On the rooftop under the sky  
You can kiss me with the windows open  
While the rain comes pouring inside   
Kiss me in sweet slow motion  
Let's let every thing slide   
You got me floating, you got me flying…"_

Summer saw Seth look away for a moment and her eyes darted in the direction of his. She accidentally locked eyes with John and felt an icy shiver go through her body and she immediately went back to staring at Seth. She was sure Seth had seen the look John was giving her and when he turned back, Summer saw a hint of sadness run through his eyes. Summer still continued singing the song to Seth, trying to show him that John's gaze didn't mean a thing to her and that she only loved him.

"…_It's the way you love me  
It's a feeling like this  
It's centrifugal motion  
It's perpetual bliss  
It's that pivotal moment   
It's subliminal  
This kiss, this kiss (It's Criminal)   
This kiss, this kiss"_

Summer jumped down from the stage, running back to Seth, letting her lips touch his before her arms or legs had reached him first. She intensified the kiss and kept their tongues battling for as long as she could before they both had to pull out of the kiss due to lack of oxygen.

"Now _that's_ the kiss I was singing about," Summer smirked.

"Really? I couldn't tell," Seth joked, sitting back down, bringing Summer with him to sit on his lap.

Summer curled her arms around Seth's neck, resting her head in the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent. She tried to keep her eyes from resting anywhere near John but she couldn't help but glance over and John smiled and winked at her in return. Summer jolted out of her place and repositioned herself on Seth's lap so there was no way she could make eye contact with John anymore. Seth gazed down at her, kissing her nose, swaying her to the slow music that had engulfed the bar. Summer smiled, ignoring the images of John that were creeping up in her mind and focused on just being there, in Seth's arms.

Seth felt Summer tense up as she moved her spot on his lap and he couldn't help but steal an evil glance over to John. John was clearly staring at his girlfriend and if the other couples of the table hadn't already been completely absorbed in their own significant other, they would have noticed it too. John's faint smile to him made Seth pull Summer closer, unconsciously trying to protect her.

"Hey," Seth whispered into Summer's ear and saw goose bumps appear on the skin of her neck as a result of his hot breath. "Wanna try going for a walk? It's such a nice night out and I've had yet to see this city by night."

Summer tilted her head up from his shoulder, leaving a lingering kiss on his lips. "Let's go." Summer pulled herself out of Seth's lap and put his hand around her waist as she led him out.

Seth made sure to remove his hand from Summer's waist to instead settle in the back pocket of Summer's jeans, just to show John that Summer was his and that she wasn't going anywhere.

John simply smirked as they left.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**By the way – the songs: "All for You" by Sister Hazel and "This Kiss" by Faith Hill do not belong to me either.**


	14. The Green Cup Paddle

**Disclaimer: Is it still Josh's if the show's now cancelled?**

**A/N: So I watched the last episode of "The OC" yesterday. (I know, I know… I live in the US and I waited two days after the fact? Well, I ended up taping it Thursday night; one – because I had a sorority meeting and two – because I wanted to watch it with friends who were just as sad to see the show go off-air and yesterday was the only time we could coordinate our schedules.) But anyways, I decided to write this after I finished watching and here's the ending result. Sorry if it's not all you guys have hoped for. But the drama's coming up fast! And I also apologize for not writing back to anyone's reviews – I figured putting out a chapter was better than replying. But I swear, all reviews from now on – I'm replying. Cross my heart.**

**Anyway, this A/N is a little too long so I'll let you all just read the chapter already.**

**Read, enjoy, and review! And thanks for the uplifting messages!**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"It's really beautiful out here," Summer sighed as she leaned into Seth's arm, gripping his right hand in her left one and wrapping her right arm completely around Seth's. They had just left the karaoke bar and were walking along 5th Ave, watching the random passer-bys casually talking or zipping in and out of closing stores.

"With all the car exhausts, crowds of people, and the smell of urine," Seth named them off sarcastically, "I guess I can see where you're coming from."

Summer pulled back and lightly punched Seth's arm, in which he responded with a chuckle.

"I've got padding this time, Summer," Seth indicated to his light-weight jacket. "You just can't hurt me like you used to."

Summer loved the way Seth's smile widen with his dimples growing deeper into his clear skin. She loved that Seth could make her laugh by even the simplest statement, causing her heart to skip a beat or two. She loved the feel of Seth's skin being caressed against her own, and even though direct contact was diverted at this time because of light-weight jackets, she could still feel her skin heating up, as if it had its own natural reaction to having Seth so close to her. Summer just loved Seth – simply, truly, and beyond a doubt loved him. With these thoughts invading her mind, the uneasy tension from the Karaoke Bar and John washed away, leaving her only to admire Seth's confident stance next to her.

"Oh," Summer giggled, "You're a big boy now? Don't need Ryan to fight your battles anymore?"

"I never needed Ryan to fight my battles. I do pretty fantastic on my own."

"Now."

"Now?" Seth stopped, turning towards Summer. "_Now_? What happened to having a great, strong boyfriend who can mess up anyone's face if they try to mess with his girl?"

Summer laughed out loud at this statement, almost hurling over as laughing pains crept to her stomach. "Who the hell said that?"

"You," Seth sweetly replied as he tapped his pointer finger on his girlfriend's nose.

"No," Summer laughed, trying to gain her composure, "No, I didn't."

Seth nodded his head enthusiastically, pointing his finger towards Summer. "Yes, you did. Remember that night when we were lying in your dorm room and you told me I was your superhero and that you thought I could fight anyone for you?"

"Vaguely," Summer smiled. "Wasn't that the night we got trashed at that girl Macy's St. Patrick's Day party?"

"Yes!" Seth shouted. "I _knew_ you remembered it!"

"Seth, I was drunk! I was saying just about anything so that I could get sex that night!"

Seth grunted loudly, continuing his walking pace unexpectedly as Summer caught up to him. "Right. Cause you weren't gonna get sex that night anyway." Seth returned his arm to around Summer's waist, looking into her eyes lovingly. "Summer, you can _always_ get sex from me. It's like the one thing in life that will remain a constant. Besides the sun, that is."

"You're too cute," Summer laughed, leaning her head back into Seth's arm.

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that," Seth smirked, keeping his gaze intently on the walkway in front of them.

Summer let her eyes linger up to Seth's outlined face, noticing the already familiar contours that were often thought about images in her mind. She reached up, bringing his head down slightly with her hand, leaving a soft kiss on his cheek. Summer saw Seth's lips begin to form into a smile and he looked down at her, leaving his own soft kiss on her forehead.

They both walked in silence for a few more minutes, just noticing the lights and buildings throughout mid-town Manhattan and every so often Seth would point out something of annoyance or displeasure. Summer would roll her eyes and lean into him further, gasping in Seth's natural scent rather than the city's "gas exhausts" and "smell of urine," as Seth so nicely put it.

At one point during their walk, Summer noticed in a series of buildings' reflections that she and Seth looked so perfect together. Not only were their clothes of matching styles and colors – which, Summer noted, was not planned by either of them -, but they seemed to just fit well into each other's bodies. While Seth continued on his normal rant of impossible prices of street vendor hot dogs in New York, Summer smiled into the reflection as if she was seeing her future life for the first time. She could imagine walking with Seth down these same streets a few years from now, after their college graduation and a hard week at their perspective jobs, just walking to relieve stress, to explore the simple parts of the city she knew Seth would grow to love, and most importantly, to just relish in the time they had to be by themselves. Summer imagined younger high school or college-aged girls walking past them to get into their favorite stores, noticing how in love she and Seth looked and how they wished they had that type of romance that was only read about in fiction novels or seen acted out on the movie screen. Summer could picture the young girls' eyes yearning for the love they did not yet know of but saw clearly with she and Seth walking briskly past, chatting about what to put on their wedding gift registry at _Ethan Allen Home Interiors_. Summer could see it all happening right here on these streets and in that moment she wanted nothing more than that dream to come true.

"You all right there?" Seth nudged Summer softly out of her thoughts with his elbow.

Summer glanced up at Seth, squeezing his hand. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Me too, Sum," Seth leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Me too."

Summer couldn't help but glance back in the building's glass to see their perfect reflection once again.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The remainder of the time Seth spent in Manhattan with Summer, he split evenly between his girlfriend and his hatred for New York City. Summer continually tried to remind him of the beauty that could be found in the little non-tourist areas of the city – the beauty that was found only beneath the first appearance or impression. At all of these comments, Seth would simply nod and kiss Summer's skin – usually her forehead or cheek – and tell her that she was amazing. Summer would smile back and always reply, "So is this city if you give it a chance, Cohen."

Seth was trying to give New York a shot. He had been trying to give up on his constant reminders that rent was probably cheaper in Newport, that transportation didn't have to smell like bowel movements, and that noise wasn't supposed to only consist of honks from annoyed taxi cab drivers. Seth really did try. He just couldn't grow to love the city that Summer was so desperately falling in love with.

On the last night that Seth was to be staying in New York with Summer, the whole gang – as Summer liked to call her new friends – invited them to a concert performed by a relatively unknown band at the local Knitting Factory. Seth thought it was a great idea after he found out the performers were a band he actually knew and Summer jumped at the chance to do something that would possibly make Seth admit that there was at least one thing great about the city.

The one thing Summer wasn't looking forward to – and neither was Seth – was the fact that John was coming along. Both Seth and Summer had turned down invites by John to go to other clubs, bars, and restaurants for the past week. They hadn't seen him since the night of the Karaoke Bar and ever since they had been happily in love without a care in the world. And although neither Seth nor Summer would admit it, they would a little more than worried that something would arise from their night spent in close quarters with John.

It was clear that Seth and John didn't get along. Seth refused to acknowledge John and John did the same. They merely existed in the same area for the days Seth was in New York, acting like the other didn't exist at all.

"So you guys pumped?" Mark asked the group as they waited in line to get in.

"Cohen's definitely excited," Summer smiled up from her purse search for her strawberry lip gloss. "He actually knows the band and _likes_ them."

"You do, man?" Matt asked surprisingly, holding onto Hannah's waist.

"Yeah," Seth answered. "They're a band from San Francisco. They were the opening act for Death Cab a few years ago."

"You're into the emo stuff?" John probed Seth, teasingly. "A little dark for such a happy, optimistic guy, don't you think?"

"Not really," Seth muttered with an annoyed tone, turning his back towards John to focus on Summer. "You have any gum?"

Summer, who tried to ignore Seth and John's small dispute, opened her purse once again. "I've got Cinnamon. I know it's not any Wintergreen but still…"

Seth smiled, taking the gum from her hand, "Thanks, Sum."

"You're a Wintergreen fan?" John tried to re-enter conversation with Seth. "Cool, me too."

"How awesome," Seth replied sarcastically as he popped the piece of gum into his mouth. "Guess we're meant to be best friends for life."

John chuckled a bit, slapping Seth's back a little harder than a friendly tap. "If you say so, man!"

Seth winced under John's slap and Summer rubbed Seth's arm comfortingly as John walked in front of them to give the bouncer his ticket. Seth looked down at Summer with anxious eyes.

Summer reached up on her tip-toes, whispering close to Seth's ear. "We're gonna have fun tonight. Just me and you and the soothing music of…" Summer searched for the name of the band.

"Green Cup Paddle," Seth told her helpfully.

"Right," Summer continued whispering. "You, me, and Green Cup Paddle."

"Should be a night to remember," Seth whispered back, leaning in to give Summer a kiss on her nose. Summer scrunched up her face happily, opening her eyes to see the bouncer asking for the tickets. Seth gave him both of theirs as they continued their way into the crowded, lightly-lit hallway leading to the concert floor.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

It didn't take long for Seth to get himself completely immersed in the music of Green Cup Paddle. It didn't take Summer long to find herself completely bored of the same emo-sounding music flooding her already jaded ears.

And it certainly didn't take John long to try and take advantage of these two obvious facts.

"Why the sad face?" John sneaked up to Summer at the bar, taking the seat next to her.

Summer put her mixed drink down and turned to John. "Oh, hey, John."

"Hey," John smiled back. "Now why aren't you having a good time? It looks like Seth sure is."

John pointed over at Seth causing both Summer and him to turn to look at him. Seth was nearly five feet away from the speakers, screaming lyrics from his mouth and holding a beer in both hands, rocking his head to the loud music with his sweaty curls sticking to his forehead.

"Yeah, he really likes the band," Summer turned back, taking another sip from her drink.

"Not what you had in mind for the night?"

Summer shook her head. "Not really. In fact, not at all."

"Hey," John put his hand on Summer's shoulder, "There's still the rest of the night."

Summer grunted. "Not when he's drunk off his ass and can't stay awake more than fifteen minutes after we leave this place."

"He really doesn't handle his liquor well, does he?"

"Do you see him right now?" Summer retorted, gulping the rest of her drink and then asking the bartender for another.

John chuckled a bit. "And what are you doing? Drowning your sorrows?"

Summer laughed a bit at this, forgetting that she was trying to stay away from John for the night, "Something like that."

Summer held a smile on her face for a few more moments as John continued staring at her, appearing to come closer. When she realized John was getting too close for comfort, she stood up from her seat abruptly. "I should go over there with him. I don't need him puking on the stage or something gross like that."

"Summer…" John began as Summer started walking away. John followed closely, reaching up for Summer's arm and holding his hand around it to halt her for a moment. "Summer, I wasn't going to do anything."

"Uh… I know," Summer avoided making eye contact. "I need to check on Seth."

"We're friends, Summer. Right?"

"Ah, yeah," Summer fumbled with her words, trying to get out of John's grasp. "Right, we're friends."

"Then look at me," John instructed her.

In that moment, Summer wanted to be anywhere but at this stupid concert venue listening to this annoying whiny music. She wanted to be in Providence, at her home, watching some chick flick movie on the couch with Seth's body curled around hers. Summer didn't want this and she didn't want Seth to suddenly look over and see John and her together thinking they were having some type of lover's affair quarrel and then cause a drunken scene in front of the many people in the venue. And with Summer's luck wearing thin these days with close encounters that might possibly not be resolved so easily as they had been, she was desperately afraid that exactly that would happen.

"What, John?" Summer looked up at him with an annoyed look.

"You've been acting really distant ever since Seth came. Did he tell you not to talk to me or something?"

"No, he didn't tell me anything like that! He's not jealous."

"As he shouldn't," John answered defiantly. "There's nothing he should be jealous of. Seeing as I'm just your friend and he's clearly your boyfriend."

"Yes. _Clearly_," Summer sneered. "Now could you let me go?"

"If you tell me why you won't talk to me anymore. I thought we were becoming good friends, Summer. Really good friends. Now you just treat me like shit. Like I'm not good enough to be around. Summer, I'm hurt. We really hit it off well – both in seventh grade _and_ this summer," John smirked, lightening the mood.

Summer felt a hint of guilt creep into her mind as she heard John's words. Maybe John wasn't trying to do anything to destroy her relationship with Seth. Maybe she was just making up all this melodrama in her head, as if trying to find a way to cause a problem between her and Seth. Not that she wanted any problems. Not at all. She just wasn't used to having no romantic drama with Seth – especially when they were living apart for as long as they already had been. Maybe she had just brought up this whole John issue in her head to cause problems. Maybe John wasn't the one to blame and instead it was her.

"I'm sorry, John," Summer replied earnestly. "I don't know why I've been acting this way. I guess, I'm just trying to sort things out."

John let go of Summer's arm, knowing Summer wouldn't run off this time. "Sort what things out?"

"I don't know. Just… umm… things…" Summer answered unsurely.

"Things. Right. Got it," John chuckled again. "Well, you know, Summer, you can come to me with any of these 'things' you're having trouble sorting out. I'm a good listener when someone needs me to be."

Summer opened up her mouth to reply, but suddenly a heavy arm draped around her shoulder and as she turned to see who its owner was, the stench of beer flooded Summer's senses.

"Ew, Cohen! Have enough beer?"

Seth ignored Summer's outburst and began talking. "This band is awesome! _Awesome_, Summer. Almost as awesome as you in bed!"

Summer's eyes bulged out of her head, slapping Seth away. "Cohen!"

John snickered a bit, as Seth continued. "I said almost, Summer. _Almost_. Don't get mad, baby." Seth began shuffling Summer's hair with his empty hand, while the other brought the bottle of beer up to his lips.

Summer angrily ripped the beer away from Seth's lips and handed it to John. "Take this."

"Sure thing," John laughed, taking the bottle.

"What're you doing, Sum?" Seth voiced, hurt.

"I'm taking you back to the apartment," Summer rearranged her position that molded into Seth's body so that she could hold him upright.

"Ooohhh," Seth's face brightened up. "So we can have sex? Summer, I _love_ having sex with you. It's, like, the best thing _ever_."

Summer groaned, trying to walk him through the crowd at a fast pace as John followed behind. "Seth, let's just work on getting you sober."

"I get sober and then I get sex! Awesome! I went to an awesome concert and then I'm gonna have sex with my awesome girlfriend. This is an awesome night!"

As they reached the door, John held it open for them, and spoke to Summer. "You sure you don't want some help bringing him back?"

Before Summer could reply, Seth shook his head fiercely pointing at John. "Where did you come from? You know, I don't really like you, you… you… ugly, mean, demon water polo player."

"Seth, stop it," Summer held his body up and then looked over at John, "I'll be okay. Thanks though." John smiled and turned around as Summer added, "And I'm sorry. I really am."

"Just get him home safe… and sober," John replied, before turning back around, about to head back into the venue.

"Summer, he's a dick. Don't be friends with dicks. He only wants in your pants and I'm the only person who gets in your pants. Right, baby?" Seth slurred.

"Right, Cohen," Summer humored him. "You really need to sober up."

"Anything for you, baby," Seth leaned in and left a slobbery kiss on the side of her face as they continued down the street.

John continued smirking, laughing and saying to himself, "You're gonna lose her soon, geek. Give me just a few more weeks and that six year relationship will be nothing more than some horrible nightmare to her." John snickered, walking back into the concert, chugging the rest of Seth's unfinished beer.


	15. The Providence Surprise

**Disclaimer: Haha. Right. _So_ not mine.**

**A/N: I apologize in advance for this chapter completely sucking. (Which it does.) I wanted to write something and put it up relatively soon. But even more than that, if I had waited and tried to write something better, I realized it would still suck because this is such a transition chapter that I have no other ideas of how to write it without it coming out just as it is now. Does that even make sense?**

**Ha. Anyway, this is what I've got. Sorry about it. A new (and much, much better – hopefully) chapter should be up within the next week.**

**Please read and review. Regardless of how many times you may cringe.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Hey, Summer," Hannah greeted as she walked through the apartment door. "Coming out with us tonight?"

Summer lay sprawled out on the couch, pressing the remote control continuously as if she were trying to find something worthwhile to watch on the television, "Nope."

Hannah put her bag on the coffee table that separated the couch and the television before sitting down on it, blocking Summer's view of the T.V.

"No offense, but you're an awful window," Summer frowned at Hannah.

"Summer, come on," Hannah leaned forward showing no signs of moving her body. "Come out with us."

"I'd rather not."

"Well, can you at least tell me why you've been moping? Did something happen between you and Seth?"

Summer shook her head, trying to peer around Hannah to get a glimpse of the television.

"What about your family?" Hannah prodded. "Newport?"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just tired. Honestly."

"I don't buy that."

"Well, it's not my fault you have trust issues."

Hannah stood up and walked over to the television, shutting it off and then taking the remote from Summer's hand.

"Hey!" Summer shouted, sitting up. "What was that for?"

"You're gonna tell me what's going on or neither one of us is moving from these two spots tonight."

Summer groaned. "Nothing's wrong. I miss Seth, that's all."

"That's it?"

"And I'm stressed with work."

"You work with my boyfriend doing the same job. And he's not swamped with work."

"He's different."

"Summer…"

"I feel like I didn't get to spend enough time with Seth," Summer finally blurted out to Hannah. "And I really miss him and he hasn't called me once this week. Before he came to visit we talked all the time. At least once a day for an hour or more. Now there's nothing. And he left kind of awkwardly. Like, I mean, yeah I know he was hung-over from the concert the night before but seriously? He couldn't even muster up a better goodbye than 'We'll have to do this again sometime?'"

Hannah stood there, slightly shocked. "He said that?"

"Yeah! Like we're acquaintances and like, I know you don't know me that well but I do _not_ sleep with acquaintances. I'm not a whore."

"I never thought you were, Summer."

"Good. Cause I'm not. He's my _boyfriend_. And it's just… he's usually so head over heels for me and suddenly he's not anymore? I mean, what is that?"

Hannah chuckled to herself, careful to make sure Summer didn't notice it through her rant. It appeared that once you got Summer to open up, she would let it all go, regardless of the fact that she had been so determined to keep it all locked up.

"Maybe he's busy."

"Too busy for me?" Summer grunted, falling back into the couch. "Cohen is _never_ too busy for me."

"Maybe something is up then. Have you tried calling him?" Hannah asked helpfully.

"No. He should have called me by now. Not the other way around."

"He's probably waiting for you."

"God! We're not in any kind of fight! This shouldn't be a big deal at all! He's just acting so… so… _Coheny_!" Summer burst out.

Hannah sat in the empty spot next to Summer on the couch and turned towards her. "Why don't you go visit him back in Providence? Surprise him or something? I'm sure that would fix everything."

"Yeah," Summer's angry face turned slowly into a smile. "I don't have any work this weekend and like, two days is plenty of time to work things out. Plus, if I need to I can probably just call in sick on Monday. Wow, that's a great idea, Hannah! Thank you!" Summer stood up abruptly and headed towards the door without another glance back at Hannah.

Hannah slouched into the couch turning on the television, flipping through the channels as Summer just was minutes earlier, muttering to herself, "Anytime, Summer. Anytime."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summer arrived in Providence's bus station at precisely 6:42 that Friday night. She had spent the majority of the bus ride debating whether to call Seth up for a ride back to the apartment or to surprise him entirely and she ended up settling on the latter.

In Providence that July 24th night, it was raining. Or down pouring seemed like a more suitable word. Summer trudged her overly packed suitcase through the bus station and out to the street, standing underneath her hood because she hadn't thought to check the weather in her fit of spontaneity back in New York, trying to flag down a taxi.

"_God_," Summer muttered to herself impatiently, "It's so much easier to get a taxi in New York than it is here."

After a few soaking minutes later, a taxi finally pulled to the curb as Summer loaded her suitcase in and threw her body into the backseat.

"17 Crystal Avenue," Summer told the taxi driver as she wiped her face of wetness, trying to make herself look as presentable as possible for Seth.

It didn't take long for Summer to arrive at the apartment, and as they drove up she noticed that all the lights in the apartment were off. She definitely didn't think it was possible that Seth was asleep at this time, nor did she want to think that he was out partying when he could have been spending time on the phone with her. Summer paid the taxi driver and brought the heavy suitcase up the walkway and unlocked the door with her key, only to be greeted by the emptiness that was inside.

Summer heaved the suitcase in front of her and shut the front door, turning the light on in the process. She took in the surroundings of the apartment – papers lying everywhere, pieces of trash and clothing scattered across the floor, and a rather disgusting stench coming from the couch area. Summer couldn't believe this was the same apartment she had lived in with Seth only two months earlier. She also couldn't believe how Seth let it become this way.

Summer decided that while she was waiting for Seth to return home, she'd clean the entire apartment, making it completely spotless. It took her nearly two hours but when she was finished vacuuming, scrubbing, and air-freshening their one-floor apartment – and then showering afterwards -, she fell onto the couch, letting the light from the television be the only light in the area. After an hour of skipping through pointless music countdowns and awful reality TV, Summer stood up from the couch and made her way into the bedroom, falling disgracefully onto the bed. She reached for her phone, seeing the peering time of 12:44am and finally decided on calling Seth. She hated that she had waited this long for him to come home and she equally hated that now her surprise was virtually ruined. Summer sighed into the phone as the rings flooded her ears.

"Hey. It's Seth. And if you didn't know that already you should probably hang up now. If the name sounded familiar, then leave something worth replying to."

Summer opened her mouth to speak once the beep went off but, suddenly at a loss of words; she instead flipped her phone shut, huffing into the pillows.

The need for sleep was quickly overwhelming her senses and she crawled under the sheets, gripping her phone tightly as she faded into her dreams.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Awesome night, Cali boy!" Nick slapped Seth's back as Seth stepped out of Nick's car.

"Yeah, video games, comic books, and pizza make for an unbeatable combination," Seth answered earnestly.

"Get some sleep," Nick replied. "Tomorrow's a fun-filled day back at the office!"

"Oh yeah… working at the store and then doing case work there into tomorrow night sounds completely awesome," Seth told Nick sarcastically as Nick laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow, man."

"Later, dude."

Seth shut the door and hauled himself up the stairs and into the apartment. He didn't even bother switching on the lights, rather flinging his jacket towards the couch and sending his keys sliding across the counter, walking towards the bedroom losing his shoes, pants, and shirt as he went.

He stumbled into the bed, knocking his leg into something that felt like another warm body.

"What the fuck…?" Seth shot out of bed, reaching for the lamp and turning it on.

"Seth…?" Summer squinted her eyes, smiling slightly as she woke herself up. "Surprise, baby."

"Summer?" Seth stood against the wall, trying to comprehend what was going on in front of him. "What're you doing here?"

Summer sat up in bed, realizing she was still wearing her same clothes that she been soaked in earlier and that her hair and make-up probably looked like a mess. "You don't want me here?"

"What? No, I didn't say that," Seth returned to the bed, engulfing his arms around Summer in a close hug. "I was just asking why you're here. Did something happen?" Seth pulled away to look into Summer's eyes. "Are you okay?"

Summer nodded her head and smiled. "I'm fine, Cohen. I just wanted to see you."

Seth took a quick glance at his alarm clock. "At two in the morning?"

"No, at six-thirty tonight. Which is the time I arrived here, by the way."

"Why didn't you call me?"

"Why didn't _you_ call _me_?" Summer retorted back to him.

"What?" Seth looked at her incredulously. "I didn't know you were coming. Did you tell me you were coming?"

"No," Summer pouted, pulling out of Seth's grasp, coming to her own realization. "You're not happy I'm here."

"I didn't say that. Don't put words in my mouth. I'm just shocked. And confused," Seth rubbed his head.

"I wanted to see you. Is that a problem?"

Seth saw Summer shift her position on the bed, crossing her arms over her chest and stare at him intently. "No. God, no. I'm so glad you're here, Summer." Seth drew closer to her as she stayed in her same position. "I'm _ecstatic_ that you're here." Seth began kissing her neck as he felt Summer tense a little at his touch.

"How come you haven't called?" Summer pushed him away, reaching her hands up on Seth's shoulders. "And where were you tonight?"

"I hung at the store after-hours with the guys. We ordered pizza and played some playstation."

"Why haven't you called?" Summer asked again.

"When? Tonight? Summer, honestly, I didn't know you were coming."

"No, I know that. But since you left like a week and half ago. I haven't heard from you at all. Before you came we talked on the phone everyday. Now? Nothing."

Seth could sense the hurt in her voice and he brought his arms to wrap around her waist as he lifted her up into his lap, keeping eye contact with her. "I've been really busy, Summer. Since I took so much time off to visit you last week I have had so much work to make up. Not just at the firm, but at the store too."

"That's why you were out partying with them tonight?"

"I needed a break."

"And you couldn't have called me? I couldn't have been your break?"

"Summer…"

Summer moved from Seth's lap, settling herself on her side of the bed and her head on her old pillow, turning her body so that her back was against him.

"Please don't get angry at me," Seth tried to rub her back soothingly but she jolted under his touch. "Summer…"

"I'm tired, Seth."

"I'm so glad you're here," Seth tried after a few silent moments, crawling under the covers himself and moving ever so slightly towards his girlfriend's body. "I can't believe you came out here to surprise me. I love you."

At these words, Summer melted her icy exterior. "You do?"

"Of course I do," Seth took this opportunity to graze his hand over her clothed back. Summer didn't jolt this time so he moved his body closer, pulling Summer into his embrace. "I can't imagine anything that would make me happier right now. Other than you not being mad at me, that is."

Summer turned her body so she was facing Seth face to face. "Why did you tell me when you were leaving that we'd have to 'do this again sometime'?"

"Huh?" Seth asked, confused once again.

"When I walked you down to your car the next morning after the concert. You said we'd have to do this again sometime and then you kissed my forehead and got in and drove off."

"Summer, I was hung over."

"You didn't say you loved me or that you would miss me."

"I felt it was already implied."

"I still wanted to hear it," Summer sniffled, trying to hold back her overwhelming tears that were a result of the stress and exhaustion.

Seth reached for his girlfriend's face, cupping it in his hands, whispering, "Summer, I _do_ love you and I miss you every second that you're not this close to me."

"You mean it?"

"Do you really have to ask me that question?" Seth chuckled, leaning in to kiss her lips for the first time that night. "Summer, I love you with every fiber in my body and I miss you more than I have ever missed anyone when you aren't in my arms."

Summer giggled, wriggling herself closer to Seth's body, letting Seth kiss her face and hair. "I love being in your arms."

"As I love having you in them," Seth smiled as he let his lips collide with hers once again.

Summer let her worries melt away as Seth continued kissing her in the early hours of Saturday morning, feeling excitement for the weekend she'd have to spend with Seth.


	16. The Disappointment

**Disclaimer: Nothing has changed since the last time I posted.**

**A/N: I told you all I'd get another chapter out soon! I'm keeping to my word over here! I think I was just so disappointed with my last chapter – even though you all didn't think it was bad, so thank you for that – that I just wanted another one to cover it up with.**

**This one's still a bit of a filler but I promise the drama will be in full force within the next two chapters. And what I have planned – I'm hoping it will come out good. We'll see though.**

**Sorry about not replying to everyone's reviews last chapter. My email doesn't seem to be cooperating with me lately so I can't even log on to read the reviews. Hopefully that will change soon.**

**Okay – enough from me – read, review, and enjoy!**

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Summer woke to the sound of something falling over and crashing onto the floor in the bedroom. She rolled her body over the messy covers and saw Seth scrambling on the floor, trying to pick up a group of papers and a few stray pens.

"Cohen…?" Summer attempted to sit up, only finding herself falling back into the pillows after seeing the time of seven-thirty peering on the clock. "Why are you up so early? We didn't actually get to sleep until three in the morning. Don't you think you could sleep in a little?" Summer asked groggily.

"Can't," Seth smiled up at her from his place on the floor. "Lots of work to do today."

This statement caused Summer to sit up entirely, almost appearing as if she had been awake for hours rather than seconds. "What? You're going into work? I thought you could call in sick or something so we could spend time together."

Seth finished gathering his necessities off of the floor and stood up. It was then that Summer first noticed Seth's graphic tee that was mandatory for working at the store and then she noticed his briefcase, which carried all his work for the firm.

Seth walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge of it, rubbing his arm up and down Summer's comfortingly. "I told you that I had tons of work to make up. I can't call in sick now. I could get fired."

Summer leaned her back into the dashboard, sighing, "You can't even call in sick to the store? Or have Nick cover for you?"

Seth returned a sad smile to Summer's face as he left his hand lingering in her lap, clasping her hands. "You know if I thought I could I would have already done that. I swear to you, Summer, that I have massive amounts of work to get done. I'm even bringing my briefcase with me into the store so I can try and do some of the firm work while I'm there." Seth held up the briefcase as if to solidify this point.

"Okay," Summer tried to lighten up. "But what about dinner tonight? Think we could go out to a restaurant and then maybe to a movie?"

"Like a date?" Seth mocked, happily. Summer nodded, mimicking the giddy look across Seth's face. "I guess I could try and work that in."

Seth leaned forward to kiss Summer's lips but she pulled away. "No, I haven't brushed my teeth yet."

"When has that ever stopped me?" Seth leaned forward again, brushing his lips against her giggling ones, lingering there for a few moments. Seth pulled back, "Okay, I have to go. But how about you do something fun around here today. Call up one of your friends and see if they're around to hang out with."

"What friends?" Summer asked honestly. "You're my only friend around here. And if you count Nick then that's two."

"You're still friends with Callie – your old roommate, right? And what about that girl Ashley that was in all of your gen. ed. classes? You two seemed pretty close this past year."

Summer smiled back at Seth, placing a hand over her heart in mock surprise, "Wow. You _do_ listen when I tell you things!"

Seth stood up from the bed, beaming, as he adjusted his shirt and picked up his briefcase. "Don't sound so shocked. I always listen when you talk, Summer. Your voice soothes me," Seth joked.

"Right," Summer laughed. "Have a good day at work."

"I doubt it, but I'll try," Seth leaned back down and left a kiss on Summer's forehead, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Summer replied as Seth exited the room and left the apartment.

Summer looked around the empty bedroom, trying to think of something to do for the day. She didn't want to just lie in there and stay in pajamas all day. And she had already cleaned the entire apartment the night before so she couldn't use that as an excuse. Summer thought she could go walk around the city, spend a nice summer day in Providence until she realized that Providence wasn't Manhattan and rarely did anyone just go out walking for the fun of it around here. Then Summer thought she could go shopping, get a few new outfits that she could model for Seth, but then she remembered that she never liked shopping by herself nor did she have the money to afford a day-long shopping spree.

She could call up Callie or her friend Ashley, see if they were around, but Summer didn't feel completely comfortable with it. Even though she and Ashley had hung out a lot, they hadn't talked since the semester had ended and with Callie, Summer vaguely remembered her mentioning that she was moving to Chicago for the summer to work. Summer heaved back into the pillows with an exasperated sigh, pulling the covers dramatically over her head, trying to come up with something – _anything_ – to keep her from being bored until her date with Seth.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

By five that night, Summer had found the perfect way to waste an entire day – making lists of things she wanted to do, things she had not yet done, and things that had to be either started or finished. She was sitting on the floor of the living room, with many discarded balls of scrap paper covering the area, and her body still clad in her sweats that she had decidedly put on that morning when she knew she wasn't going to leave the apartment.

After another two hours of sleeping in bed, she had gotten up, made breakfast, and then sat in front of the television for another couple of hours. She finally realized that she shouldn't be wasting the day away doing nothing, so she started out by grabbing her treasured photo album of her and Seth out from the closet and working religiously on it for the next four hours. Summer ended up skipping lunch because she had found herself immensely engrossed in her creative mood of rearranging pictures and adding other pictures she had collected throughout the year, but had never had the time to put in. It wasn't normal that Summer had a decent amount of time to work on the photo album – because she and Seth were usually always busy and if they weren't they were busy being together – so she took pride in spending her hours staring lovingly at her boyfriend's face, wishing the night would arrive sooner.

Once she was finished, she had made her lists of everything, anything, and nothing at the same time and she finally sat listless on the couch, wondering what to occupy her time next with. Since it was getting so close to dinnertime, Summer began getting herself all ready for the date she and Seth had quickly planned that morning, blasting upbeat music and beaming all the while. Suddenly, near six-thirty, her phone rang and she giddily answered it as she saw Seth's name on the caller ID.

"Hey!" Summer greeted Seth. "I'm almost done getting ready. I'll be ready to go out the door as soon as you get here."

"I wish you wouldn't have said that…" Seth mumbled back.

"What?" Summer froze her smile. "Why not?"

"I need to cover Gabe's shift tonight. He had a family emergency and since he covered my ass last week, I owe him."

"Seth…" Summer whined. "I'm leaving tomorrow! Can't you find someone else to cover it for him?"

"I tried. Everyone's already busy or not answering their phone. I'm really sorry, Summer. You know I'd rather spend the night with you."

Summer sighed, falling back onto the bed, ignoring the fact that her dress was wrinkling with each passing second. "I'm sorry. It's okay. I know you have a lot of work to make up and I'm just getting in the way."

"You're not in the way, Sum," Seth told her.

"Yeah…" Summer replied sadly, obviously not convinced. "Well, I guess I'll just order some pizza or something. You want me to save you any?"

"No, I'm just gonna order something here. I should be back around eleven if you want to watch a movie or something?"

"No, it's all right. You're gonna be tired and I want to at least make sure you get enough sleep so that tomorrow we can hang out before I have to go back to New York."

Seth groaned into the phone causing Summer to raise her eyebrows in response, even though she knew he couldn't see them. "I have to work at the store tomorrow too."

"What?" Summer asked disbelievingly. "Isn't that, like, illegal or something? You work all the time!"

"Not usually," Seth offered helpfully. "Just recently because I'm trying to make up for lost time."

"How about calling in sick tomorrow then? It's just one day…"

"I can't. I have to pay rent on our apartment. You know that."

"Cohen, I came back to Providence to see you. Not spend the entire weekend hauled up in this apartment," Summer whimpered.

Now it was Seth's turn to act surprised. "You didn't leave the apartment today?"

"No," Summer whispered.

"Oh, Sum…" Seth sighed sadly into the phone. "Okay, here. How about we do breakfast tomorrow morning? I don't have to work until ten-thirty so we can get up early and go to that diner near Brown's campus? That one you love?"

"You don't have to do that, Seth. You'll wear yourself thin and get sick," Summer reminded him.

"I want to spend time with you," Seth told her.

"And I want to spend time with you too, but, Cohen, it's all right. As long as you get back here tonight at eleven and we lie in bed together, I'll be satisfied."

"No, you won't," Seth laughed into the phone.

Summer laughed as well, "You're right. I won't. But it's okay. Really."

"All right," Seth took a deep breath. "I have to go but I'll see you later tonight. And I'm really sorry, Summer."

"I know you are," Summer replied sincerely. "I love you. And tell Gabe I hate him."

Seth laughed in reply, before hanging up, "Will do. I love you. Bye."

Summer flipped her phone shut as she looked into her bedroom's dresser mirror from her seat on the couch. She thought she looked pathetic, sitting there in a fancy dress with her hair all curled and sprayed in just the right areas, holding her phone sadly in her hand. Summer looked away before the tears began falling silently and grabbed a hold of the photo album, glancing through each of the pages.

"So much for a surprise," Summer mumbled, closing the album once again and putting it back into her secret spot in the closet.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summer had settled into a nap while still wearing her dress only a little while after she hung up the phone with Seth. She awoke uncertainly an hour or so later to her loud ringing of her phone once again, this time showing that her apartment number in New York was calling.

"Hello?" Summer asked apprehensively.

"Hey! Summer!" John's voice came through the earpiece. "Where the hell are ya?"

"I'm in Providence," Summer rubbed her eyes. "I came out to visit Seth for the weekend."

"Oh," John sounded shocked. "When did you leave?"

"Yesterday. I'm coming back tomorrow morning."

"Such a short trip for such a long travel distance, don't you think?"

"Yeah, well, it was supposed to be a surprise. It didn't work out so well," Summer sighed sadly.

"I've always hated surprises. You get all excited for them and think of the best case scenarios when they just come back and bite you in the ass and ruin all the fun."

Summer laughed. "Pretty much."

"So if you don't mind my asking, what happened to make you sound so gloomy?" John inquired.

"Seth hasn't been around. He's been really busy between working at the store and getting his work for the firm done. I've hardly seen him and he won't be back until late tonight and has to work again tomorrow morning. I've been bored and miserable all day just sitting here."

"You didn't go out?" John asked shocked.

"No," Summer replied, "Well, we were supposed to go out to dinner tonight but he had to cover someone else's shift so I'm just lying around the apartment."

"Doesn't sound like much fun to me," John declared.

Summer laughed ironically, "Nope, can't say that it is."

"Well," John perked up, "It sounds like you need a little cheering up. And although I can't make it out to Providence at this hour, I'm just as great on the phone so why don't we have one of those in-depth conversations where you just talk my ear off and whine and complain? And then tomorrow when you get back, I'll take you out to dinner – as friends, of course – where you can continue your rant, or any other rants for that matter, for as long as you'd so desire."

"You don't have to do that for me."

"Of course I do. What are friends for?"

"Kind of cheesy line there, but yeah. Okay. You sure you ready for my level of complaining?"

"I have a sixteen year old sister. I'm ready for _any_ level of complaining," John smirked into the phone.

"All right," Summer laughed, feeling herself ease a bit into conversation with John.

Summer didn't know why she decided to unload everything on John. She didn't even know why John was calling from her apartment in New York in the first place. But Summer really missed Seth and she was extremely bored so finding someone to release all her feelings to was looking like a fantastic idea right now. And even though things with John were a bit on the awkward side, she didn't care. Because Summer was bored and no one was around and if someone was offering to listen to her – complains, rants, and all – who was she to disappoint them?


	17. The Vertical Expression

**Disclaimer: Nope.**

**A/N: Two updates in one week?? Seriously, let's give me some props for that one. I'm also hoping to get another chapter up by the end of the weekend or Monday, but after that I have mid-terms which basically means another chapter won't be up for a little while. But still – appreciate the ones that have been written and posted fast!**

**Read, review, and enjoy!**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Hey, Summer. It's Seth," Seth sighed into his phone. "I know this is, like, my _billionth_ call but I haven't heard from you in awhile. Or five days. Which, you know, is a long time. At least I think it is. Anyway, I hope you're not still mad about last weekend. I really did have a lot of work and you know I would have much rather spent the time with you. We didn't leave on bad terms – at least I didn't think we did – so I just don't know what's going on. Maybe you're busy, which, cool, I get that. But you don't have five minutes to call your boyfriend and tell him you're alive? Cause I'm kind of starting to worry now. I mean, you don't usually blow me off like this. Even when you are mad at me. Not that I'm saying you _are_ blowing me off but… well… you know what I mean… Summer, could you just call me? I love you and I really miss you… Only a month left until school starts again and we're together. And who could forget your twenty-first birthday, right? I know I never would seeing as I've known your birthday since before you even acknowledged my presence. I was pretty content back in the day being the dorky boy that baked a cake for a girl who never spoke to me. I never did tell you that, did I? Yeah, I used to bake you cakes. I hope you don't think that's too creepy. My mom used to try to help but, well… you know with my mom's cooking skills… or lack thereof… But anyway – that was totally off topic -, your most important birthday is only a couple of weeks away. Maybe I could come visit then? Spend the entire time doing whatever you want to do? Sound good?... Call me, Sum. Please? Okay. All right. I gotta go before your voicemail cuts off on me. I love you more than pudding… That was a joke, by the way… Well, sort of, I mean I do love you more than pudding but… yeah, I gotta go. Bye."

"Man, you're pathetic."

Seth turned around in his swivel chair at the sound of Nick's voice. It was then that Seth noticed Nick's body lazily leaning against Seth's cubicle wall at Peabody & Sheehan's law firm. "Where did you come from?"

"The door downstairs," Nick answered sardonically, continuing before Seth could retort to his comment. "Wanna go to lunch?"

"What? No! Were you listening in on my conversation?" Seth exclaimed.

"Your one-sided conversation with Summer's voicemail? Yeah, a little bit," Nick snickered as he turned to leave the building.

Seth followed after him, telling Nick his problems. "She doesn't answer her phone, man. Ever. I think something's wrong."

"Really?" Nick faked concern. "Cause I think someone's paranoid."

Seth's mouth dropped open for a few seconds, stopping in mid-step. "I am not being paranoid. We haven't talked for a week!" Nick sent Seth a look that made Seth retract his last statement. "Okay! Since Sunday! Which is almost a week!"

"So what? Didn't you go without talking to her that long last week?"

"I was busy! Plus, I wasn't ignoring her calls."

"Maybe she's the one busy now. God, get over it, Cali-boy! You're acting like a chick!"

"I am not!" Seth whined as Nick rolled his eyes. "Dude, I'm not!"

"Okay," Nick replied, clearly unconvinced.

"Just because I want my relationship with her to work doesn't mean I'm being a girl -"

"Dude -" Nick tried to interrupt Seth's oncoming rant, noticing Seth's phone lighting up in his hand.

Seth ignored, swinging his hands around animatedly, " – Yeah, okay. I'm not the strongest guy ever. And sometimes I tear up a bit at Disney movies -"

"Cali-boy," Nick attempted again.

" – But that's only because the moms always die in those movies!"

"Seth!"

"What?!"

"Your phone is ringing."

Seth looked down at the small device lighting up in his hand and a smile crept to his face, thinking it was Summer finally calling him. He looked quickly at the caller-ID and opened up the phone with a grunt. "Ryan."

"Seth," Ryan greeted in the same tone, only with slightly more annoyance. "I saw you called. Four times. In the past hour."

"Yeah, dude, I think Summer's mad at me."

"Uh huh," Ryan answered, uninterested. "And what would you like me to do about it?"

"Well, for starters, you could actually sound like you care about your brother's happiness not going down the pipes. Or tubes. I don't actually know the appropriate saying."

Ryan snorted, "Right. Well for the sake of saving time let's say I sound like I care. What do you want me to do to save your happiness?"

Seth held his hand over the mouthpiece, whispering to Nick, "It's Ryan. And he's being an asshole."

"Sure," Nick grunted.

Seth, oblivious to Nick's grunt, returned to his conversation with Ryan. "I want you to ask Lana about it. Ask her to get a hold of Summer and get some dirt."

"Don't you think it's about time for you and Summer to embark on a grown up relationship where you two exercise the communication aspect fully?"

Seth paused for a moment, thinking Ryan was joking, and then replying, chuckling, "Since when did you turn into Dr. Phil?"

"Huh?" Ryan asked quizzically.

"Just talk to Lana, will you?! Jeez, Ryan. It's so easy."

"Seth, this isn't my problem."

"Right. Sure, I know it's not. But it's mine and you're my brother so it's like your problem too."

"No it's not," Ryan mumbled.

"Thanks buddy!" Seth replied, not hearing Ryan's last comment, and hung up the phone. "Ryan's gonna figure it out," Seth told Nick confidently, and then observing his surroundings of the café he was currently at. "Hey, when did we get here?"

"During your freak-out. Now come off the Summer-rant and let's get lunch." Nick walked into line as Seth followed behind, still trying to figure out how he missed the entire ten-minute walk there.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summer couldn't stop laughing. She had just stepped on John's toes for the third time in their second lesson of ballroom dancing. Which, as it turned out, was actually one of the most enjoyable activities she had ever decided to participate in.

John had mentioned it on a whim during their dinner as strictly friends the evening she got back from Providence. Summer then thought it was a perfect idea – she always wanted to dance gracefully and she adored the show "Dancing with the Stars" – so she grabbed John by the arm and ordered him to take her to the ballroom. John didn't make a fuss, as she thought he might, and brought her there immediately.

At first it was awkward. Summer hadn't danced with any other guy than Seth since she was sixteen and dating Zach. She had never realized that there were so many little things that she found awkward with John because he just wasn't Seth. Like shopping for everyday toiletries or leaning her head on his shoulder because she couldn't keep her eyes open on the subway when their late dance classes got out. Things like that. But after a few minutes, and John's mumblings of jokes, Summer fell at ease.

"John," Summer spoke through her laughter, "I am _so_ sorry! I didn't mean to! It's just my feet have minds of their own or something."

"Yeah, tell that to my doctor when he asks why all my toes are broken," John muttered to Summer sarcastically.

Summer bit back another laugh as their instructor spoke up. "Okay, people! Wonderful lesson today! Next one is Sunday where we'll be learning the first steps to the Mambo!"

Summer and John let go of each other and walked off the floor, untying their shoes and replacing them with their everyday shoe attire.

"So Sunday? Ready for some Mambo?"

"What?" Summer laughed. "The Salsa and the Waltz weren't enough for you? Are you a closet dancer, John Deven?"

"Maybe I am, Summer Roberts," John told her confidently as he stood up, walking towards the door. "Maybe I am."

"Well, in that case Sunday sounds like a great day to learn some Mambo!" Summer followed him, grabbing her bag and noticing a sound from her phone, indicating that she had a new voicemail. She opened it up, dialing her mailbox, and listening to Seth's message. A few eye rolls, 'aww' moments, and lots of smiles later she deleted the message and shut her phone.

"Nice message I'm guessing," John smirked as they walked towards the subway entrance.

"Yeah, it was Seth. He rambles. It's cute," Summer explained.

"You really go for the geeks, don't you?" John laughed, sliding his Metro card through the turnstile.

Summer punched his arm warmly, following his same motions into the subway. "Stop it!"

John laughed harder, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, nudging her head with his other empty hand. "Never, Roberts."

They both laughed full-heartedly as they got onto the R subway to return back to their respective apartments.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seth sat in the comfy couch at the store Friday night, waiting with Nick for a new customer to come in to ask for some help in looking for a newly released comic book or highly publicized video game. In the meantime, while no one was in the store, instead probably finding better, more exciting things to do on a Friday night in Providence, Seth and Nick were fighting it out through video game controllers, playing the newest version of Ridge Racers.

"Don't you dare… don't you dare!" Nick swerved his entire body as if he were the car that appeared on the screen himself. "Dude, Cali-boy, don't you fucking dare!"

"Ha!" Seth yelled, jumping up. "I dare! I fucking dare!"

"You asshole," Nick slumped back into the couch. "Do you, like, read cheat codes or something?"

"No, I'm just naturally gifted when it comes to mindless video games," Seth smirked.

"Of course. You're the genius. How could I forget?"

Seth was about to respond when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He quickly searched for it, grabbing it haphazardly, smiling widely after he saw the caller-ID. "Summer," Seth took a deep breath. "I'm so glad you called."

"I'm sorry, Cohen," Summer's light voice filled Seth's ears. "I've been meaning to call you back but each time I sit down to, something else comes up."

"Oh," Seth replied faintly.

"It's not like I have a lot work like you do. I've just been keeping busy doing different things. Like I cleaned. The _entire_ apartment. Even the toilet. And I wrote a couple of letters to people in California that I've been meaning to. Oh! And I took up ballroom dancing! It's the best thing ever, Cohen!" Summer squealed.

Seth's face scrunched up. "You're taking ballroom dance lessons?" Nick's uninterested face perked up once he heard that statement come out of Seth's mouth.

"Yeah!"

"By yourself? That's kind of awkward, isn't it?"

"No, I'm taking them with John."

Seth froze. Summer was taking ballroom dance lessons with a guy he had hated since he was thirteen? That prick of a water polo player was holding onto his girlfriend's body lesson after lesson?

"Summer, you aren't serious," Seth replied in a statement rather than a question.

At the same time, both Nick and Summer asked the same question. "What?"

"You're letting him touch you like that? Don't you think that's a little inappropriate?" Seth felt his voice getting tense.

"She's taking dance lessons with the asshole character?" Nick bellowed, followed by heinous laughter.

Summer heard Seth's comment and then Nick's. "Seth, tell Nick that John is not an asshole. He's actually been very nice lately."

"_Lately_? Like, what, the last five days since you were here and felt uncomfortable around him?"

"Seth!" Summer exclaimed. "I misjudged him. As did you."

Seth rolled his eyes. "Right. Okay. I misjudged him. That still doesn't mean I like him taking dance lessons with my girlfriend."

Summer heaved a sigh. "Cohen, trust me?" After no response, she continued. "We've done so well this summer. Don't let this ruin our perfect streak."

"Okay," Seth fell back into the couch. "I'm sorry. You know I trust you. I just… you know."

"I know, baby," Summer cooed. "I have to go. But I miss you. And in response to your latest voicemail, I would _love_ to have you come to New York to visit for my birthday."

"Then I'll be there," Seth attempted a smile. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye."

"Bye," Seth hung up his phone and turned towards Nick, who was still recovering from his laugh attack.

"So Summer has taken up ballroom dancing with the asshole?" Nick bit back another laugh.

"Yeah. And, by the way, his actual name is John."

"Ah," Nick fell back into the couch next to Seth. "Well, that's funny."

Seth turned his head to glare at Nick. "No, it's definitely not."

"Oh, yes it is," Nick sat back up. "Think about it. This guy who used to throw you in pens with sheep on field trips and heavily made out with the girl you were in love with -"

"Thanks for that," Seth muttered sarcastically.

" – No problem – is now taking dance lessons with your girlfriend – the same one he used to make out with – because you two live in separate states and you can't be there. Actually, now that I think about it's more ironic than funny."

"It's not ironic," Seth replied deadpanned.

"Well, I guess you just don't understand irony."

Seth groaned, covering his arm over his head. "I trust Summer. I really do. I just think that guy's a jackass who wants in her pants and I hate that there's nothing I can do to stop him from thinking that way. I mean, I know Summer would never fall for his games or whatever but I'd rather just be there to monitor it, you know?"

"Sure," Nick snickered. "Have you ever heard that saying? Oh, damnit… what was it?"

"What was what?" Seth removed his hand, looking over to Nick in question.

"That dancing saying. It's, like, the most honest saying I had ever heard in my life. My English teacher in high school used to tell us it all the time. Apparently it related to those pointless books we had to read… Oh! 'Dancing is a vertical expression for a horizontal desire!'" Nick exclaimed, laughing wildly as he did so.

"'Dancing is a vertical expression for a horizontal desire'…?" Seth questioned quietly to himself, before launching himself into a panic attack. "Oh God! Nick, why the _hell_ didn't you tell me?" Seth scrambled up from the couch.

"Tell you what?" Nick calmed down, looking at Seth's frantic pace throughout the store baffled.

"That Summer might want to sleep with him too!" Seth replied loudly, reaching for his jacket and keys.

"What?" Nick stood up. "Man, calm down. I never said that."

"But she's dancing with him! So she wants to sleep with him! Maybe she isn't consciously aware of it but she does!" Seth stopped for a moment, staring over at Nick's bewildered face with a completely stern look on his own. "I need to go stop her."

Nick laughed, unconvinced. "You're not going to New York."

"Yes, I am," Seth held his keys tightly. "I'm going to stop this."

"Seth…" Nick warned. "You have to work this weekend. You're working here _right now_. You can't just up and leave. Summer won't do anything. I swear. I was just playing with you."

"Well, I'm just going to make sure. Cover my shift. Thanks – I owe you!" Seth bolted out of the door, leaving a frenzied Nick in his wake.

"Karma, Seth!" Nick called after him. "Karma's gonna bite you in the ass for leaving me alone with the store like this!" Nick walked back over to the couch, looking over his shoulder a few times thinking Seth would suddenly come to his senses and come back, and fell down limply. Nick looked throughout the store and saw a random customer, staring shocked, glancing between Nick and the lifeless door. Nick waved and stood up, walking over to the customer, smiling. "Hey – so that whole thing back there? Nothing. It wasn't anything, okay? You didn't see it or hear it. Right?" The confused and awkward teenager nodded back at Nick in response. "Great. And anything you need help looking for?" The teenager shook his head. "Awesome," Nick slapped his back, "Now, between you and me – that guy back there? The one you didn't see? Yeah, his girlfriend's gonna kill me."


	18. The Big Blow

**Disclaimer: A forever 'not mine' kind of thing.**

**A/N: I'm on a roll! But, unfortunately, midterms are this week so another update in a few days is just not going to happen. Maybe next weekend – although that's looking pretty busy too – so who knows? Sorry to leave with an ending like this one… just leaves you with even more anticipated excitement for the next one, right?**

**Oh, and the italics in here? A flashback.**

**Read, review, and ENJOY!**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Seth spent the majority of the excruciating five hour drive to New York (traffic going into the city on a Friday night made the ride two hours longer than normal) agonizing about both Summer and John's intentions for one another. He spoke out loud – pleaded, yelled, and asserted just as if Summer were sitting right next to him. Seth couldn't stop over-analyzing the 'dancing is a vertical expression for a horizontal desire' comment and each time he thought about it, his images became worse and more vivid. At first he just saw John and Summer dancing at arms' length. Then he saw John's hand slowly sliding down Summer's back, resting on her lower back and soon on her butt. He saw images of them doing the tango, cheek to cheek, and Summer with a rose in her mouth that John had put there. Finally he saw passion and lust in their eyes and – out of nowhere – a bed appeared in the middle of the dance floor when he saw Summer leading John over to the rose petal-covered sheets, slipping off her low-cut dress seductively as John bounded on top of her, kissing her neck and making her moan in ecstasy.

It was at this point that Seth had to pull the car over at a rest stop to refrain from having a panic attack and crashing on Interstate 95.

Seth couldn't help it. He knew, deep down, that Summer would never do something like that to him. That he meant more to her than, probably, anyone else in her life and that she wouldn't intentionally ruin their almost six-year relationship. He knew this. And he even yelled this out loud to his screaming, blunt conscience as he paced around his car at the rest stop, ignoring the looks he got from other drivers who had stopped their own trek on the highway to take a break. Seth knew he was thinking ridiculous thoughts but just because he knew that, doesn't mean he could stop it.

Seth arrived in New York around midnight. He figured Summer was probably out partying at some random bar with some friends but was shocked when she actually answered her door buzzer.

"Hello?" Summer whispered kind of hoarsely into the speaker.

Seth swallowed the lump that was growing in his throat because of his anxiety over the anticipation. "Summer?"

It took a few more moments before Summer replied quietly, "Oh my God," and buzzing Seth into the apartment.

Seth immediately gathered his duffel bag he had absentmindedly packed in his speedy trip to his apartment after leaving the store, and barely walked over the threshold when Summer raced down the stairs, throwing her arms around his neck, planting her lips elatedly on Seth's unexpected ones. Seth stumbled back a few steps, holding onto Summer's waist to keep her close, and pried her lips open with his tongue. Summer squealed slightly as he did so, smiling into the kiss further, letting their tongues react in the familiar way they were so inclined to.

Seth felt his lump die away as he continued massaging Summer's tongue with his own and feeling her slightly heated skin under his fingertips. Summer had left her apartment in only an over-sized t-shirt and underwear and Seth had wasted no time lifting the t-shirt a little to feel Summer's skin against his once again.

Summer finally released her grip around Seth's neck, pulling out of the kiss as her eyes sparkled up at her boyfriend giddily.

"What are you _doing_ here, Cohen?" Summer squealed and as Seth was opening his mouth to reply, Summer decided to continue talking, shaking her head. "Actually, I don't care why. You're here!" She immediately jumped into Seth's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist as he laughed.

He didn't say anything. Instead, he simply carried her up the few flights of stairs as she snuggled into his neck, leaving light kisses there as he climbed each step. Seth was already starting to find himself out of breath by the second flight and Summer laughed, tilting her head back up.

"You tired, baby?"

Seth winced. "A little."

Summer smiled, jumping out of his arms and instead reaching for his hand, guiding him up the last remaining flight. She quickly opened the door and shut it as Seth walked behind her. Before Seth could say anything, Summer had him shoved up against the door, kissing him lustfully.

And while Seth was enjoying this brazen make-out, he couldn't help but wonder if Summer was doing this because she missed him or because she, subconsciously, had wanted to do these same things with John. His questioning conscience got the best of him as he pulled away from Summer's soft lips.

"Do you want to do this? With me?" Seth asked hesitantly.

"What?" Summer laughed. "Are we fifteen again? Of course I do!"

Summer reached towards Seth's face once again but he pushed her away. "Wait. Seriously. What's with the ballroom dancing?"

"Ballroom dancing…?" Summer posed, confused. "You mean my lessons with John?"

"Yeah. With John. That's what I mean. Do you want to do this with _me_?"

Summer's face indicated understanding as her eyebrows fell and her mouth turned into a small smile. "You came here cause you were jealous? Aw, baby…"

Summer captured Seth's lips eagerly, leading him towards her bedroom. As they fell unceremoniously onto Summer's bed, Seth peeled back again. Summer groaned, knowing Seth wanted to talk but decided to start instead.

"Seth… _You're_ my boyfriend. _I love you_. No one else. And you're here. And we haven't had sex in almost two weeks," Summer spoke to him seductively, crawling on top of him, straddling his legs, "And have I ever told you how much of a turn on innocent jealousy is to me?"

"Really?" Seth gulped as Summer removed her shirt.

"Oh yeah, Cohen," Summer leaned down, bringing the sheet over their heads. "_Really_."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seth had only been in New York one day visiting Summer and he already couldn't take it.

It wasn't about Summer. Of course it wasn't – he loved being with Summer. And it wasn't about New York. Which actually came as a surprise seeing as he still hated everything New York. Instead it was about John. John _fucking_ Deven.

And literally, Seth felt like he could rip his arm off and still find more enjoyment in the excruciating pain than to have John Deven around him and Summer like he had been for the continual past twenty-four hours.

_Seth and Summer had been together only an hour before John came bounding into the apartment loudly, along with a quiet and exhausted Matt, at one am bursting into Summer's room._

"_Summer," John had shouted, swinging the door open. "Oh shit! ... What's he doing here?"_

_Summer scrambled to bring the sheets further up around her body and Seth's. Seth spoke up, in an angry tone, before Summer could answer. "I came to visit her. Is that a problem, John?"_

"_Seth…" Summer whispered calmly, leaning into Seth's body, shielding her face from the embarrassment._

"_No, no problem at all," John replied dryly and then changing his voice to a sweet tone when he spoke to Summer. "Summer, when you get up tomorrow, give me a call, okay?"_

"_Yeah," Summer answered awkwardly, trying to avoid eye contact because of the embarrassment she felt that John had seen her and Seth naked next to each other in bed._

"_Bye Seth," John had waved bitingly._

"_Bye," Seth replied, then adding, "Oh, and can you please lock the door on your way out?"_

_John sent Seth a glare, unbeknownst to Summer who had her head in Seth's shoulder, and retorted, "Sure," and shut the door forcefully._

"_Oh my God," Summer sighed into Seth's body. "I can't believe that just happened. That was so embarrassing!"_

"_I can't believe he just popped in here. What if you were changing or something?"_

"_He wouldn't have done that," Summer reassured Seth, bringing her lips closer to his._

_Seth rolled his eyes. "He just did."_

"_Cohen…" Summer smiled seductively, changing the subject, "I'm up for round two if you are…"_

"_No thanks," Seth scoffed. "I've had enough of John Deven tonight."_

"_Not about John, baby," Summer pushed Seth gently back down as she fell on top of him. "Us."_

"_Ohh," Seth grinned. "Yeah, definitely liking round two."_

The next morning, Summer didn't even have the chance to call John. He had arrived at the bright and early hour of eight am and insisted that all of them – Seth, Summer, _and_ himself – spend the day at the Natural Museum of History. Seth had not been enthusiastic about it at all – the museum _or_ the thought of spending the day with John – but Summer thought it was a fantastic idea. She had quickly forgotten about the previous' night's "embarrassing" moments and told Seth that it would be a good idea if they hung out with John, that way they could possibly become friends. She kept asking Seth to give John another shot but Seth grunted this off.

He wasn't giving New York City another shot. Why in Jesus' _and_ Moses' name would he ever give John Deven another shot?

But since Seth cared about Summer and Summer only, he agreed to go to the museum for the sake of making his girlfriend happy.

The museum was in one of the top five worst experiences of Seth's life. And with Seth feeling that his whole childhood was pretty much full of hateful and excruciatingly painful experiences, he wasn't talking about the visit to the museum as being upsetting. He was classifying it as being catastrophic.

John hadn't let up on flirting with Summer the entire eight hours, two minutes, and twenty-six seconds that Seth had spent with them that Saturday. Seth had to give Summer credit; she usually ignored John's obvious come-ons; but at the same time she didn't try to stop them either. She would just shrug them off and act like they weren't a big deal, continuing on to the next exhibit. John would keep up his pace, laughing with Summer about some stupid inside joke Seth had no clue about and tried to wedge his way in between Seth and Summer each time they stopped walking. Each time, Seth would pull her back into his arms, wrapping them protectively around her body, trying to shield Summer from John's stares.

Lunch time wasn't any better. John had been the first to order and he ended up paying for Summer's food, saying it was a "friendly" gesture. He put stress on the word friendly, smiling sweetly at Summer and then giving Seth an evil glare after she turned away. John even managed to maneuver his way in between Seth and Summer in the booth, facing Summer the entire time, giving Seth a perfect view of his back. Summer had taken notice of this and outwardly spoke about not being able to eat some of Seth's fries like she always did, and before Seth could respond, John told her that she could have some of his fries instead. Summer smiled a little awkwardly but albeit still took a few of John's fries, munching on them as she stared apprehensively at Seth.

By the time Seth and Summer had arrived back at the apartment – with John tagging along, of course – Seth had clearly had enough. He was tired of keeping all of his urges to swear, scream, and punch John to himself and he immediately stomped into Summer's bedroom, rummaging through his things in an angry manner.

Summer undoubtedly took notice of this and asked John if she could spend a little alone time with Seth, stating that she hadn't really had the time to as of yet. John apologized as if he wasn't aware of this fact, and graciously left the apartment as Summer felt guilty for making him leave.

"Hey," Summer had opened the door to see Seth throwing clothes and miscellaneous items into his duffel bag. "I asked you to try with John today. You weren't trying."

"Because I hate that asshole," Seth grunted.

Summer stood, crossing her arms, "Seth, he hasn't done anything to you. He hasn't done anything to me. He isn't harmful and he isn't a horrible person. You need to let that grudge of yours from seventh grade go."

"Oh, believe me," Seth began bitingly, "That grudge isn't going anywhere. I'm kind of finding a nice little place for it in my head as I plan to make my voodoo doll for him and gather pins to stab it with."

"Stop being sarcastic," Summer retorted lightly, uncrossing her arms and then suddenly noticing Seth packing up his bag. "Where are you going?"

"Back to Providence."

Summer went over to Seth, wrapping her arms around his right one. "What? Why? Cohen, you just got here!"

"He likes you," Seth stated to Summer unemotionally, as he continued packing his bag.

"Who? John? Only as friends," Summer replied, pausing for a moment before adding in, "So why are you leaving?"

"I'm not gonna waste two more days here and fall even more behind in my work just so I can watch that asshole flirt with my girlfriend. Thanks, but I'll pass."

Summer shook her head, releasing her grip around Seth's arm. "He doesn't like me like that, Cohen. He sees me more like a sister… like Matt."

"Summer…"

"John doesn't have girlfriends," Summer told her boyfriend. "He has hook-ups."

"Fine," Seth stood away from the duffel bag, finally making direct eye contact with Summer. "He wants to hook-up with you."

Summer crossed her arms once again, starting to get angry. "Well, even if that were the case – which it's not -, it still doesn't matter because I don't want to hook-up with him."

"I'm just trying to look out for you," Seth sighed, not wanting to cause an argument based around John, and put his hand on Summer's arm comfortingly, but she jerked it away.

Summer crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly finding herself getting defensive. "No, you're looking out for yourself."

"What does that mean?" Seth asked, taken aback.

"That you don't want other guys around me."

"Well, of course I don't. Not how John's been around you lately, anyway."

Summer rolled her eyes. "What is this? You're trying to treat me like I'm some kind of possession. Newsflash, Seth! I don't _belong_ to you."

Seth returned to his packing at Summer's allegation. "Thanks for clearing that up, Summer. I was having a difficult time figuring out where the girlfriend line ended and the material ownership one began!"

"I'm not kidding, Seth!" Summer bellowed. "This entire time you've been here has been spent with you trying to stake your claim on me!"

"No, it's been more like me trying to keep John's hands off of you," Seth scoffed. "But I'm glad to see you've noticed my efforts while you allow John to undress you with his eyes."

Summer was angry. She was angry that Seth didn't trust her enough to know that her friendship with John was as simplistic as it could get. She was angry that no matter what route she decided to take in this argument, it would still leave her unhappy. She was angry that they were fighting because things had been so good up until this point. She was just utterly and simply angry.

And with anger comes statements that you don't really mean.

"Get out, Seth," Summer told him sternly. "Get out of my apartment."

Seth stood shocked for a moment, taking in Summer's harsh command, letting the anger rise in his body as well.

"Gladly," Seth finished zipping up his suitcase. "I'm done." With that last statement, Seth marched himself out of the bedroom, out of the living room, and finally out of the apartment.

Seth got in his car, slamming the door shut so Summer could hear it, and drove out of New York without looking back.

Summer couldn't stop staring at Seth's car exhausts from her tiny living room window, even long after they were gone, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.


	19. The Birthday Girl

**Disclaimer: Not a snowball's chance.**

**A/N: So midterms are over but that means Spring Break is right around the corner. (Friday to be exact.) And I'm going down to El Salvador to build for Habitat for Humanity. So another chapter before I leave? Not likely. But I'll try. Just don't hate me if it doesn't happen.**

**Oh and P.S. – I apologize in advance. (You'll understand when you finish reading this chapter.)**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Seth was miserable. He couldn't stand fighting with Summer, especially when she was currently living three hours away. He couldn't stand it, he didn't want it, and he was driving himself crazy – as well as other innocent bystanders – wondering if they had broken up.

These "innocent bystanders" were a mixture of people, including Seth's best friends and the most random of acquaintances. Nick and Ryan were both on the receiving end of things – in person and on the phone, respectively – on Summer's birthday night, as Seth made it an order that they both be present while he tried to decide if he should call or visit Summer or just do nothing at all.

Seth sat on his couch with Nick sitting to his side eating some Chinese take-out from a box, while Ryan listened to Seth on the phone as much as he could without flying off the handle.

"Ryan, I'm gonna put you on speakerphone so we can all come up with a plan together," Seth told his brother confidently.

Ryan sighed into the phone, "Sure, Seth."

"Dude, I'm just as excited about this as you are," Nick added after sensing Ryan's lack of enthusiasm and as Seth pressed the necessary buttons on his phone. Seth gave Nick a look for a brief moment before Nick continued saying, "Ryan, man, Seth's giving me a look."

"Stop giving him a look, Seth. You can't pull it off," Ryan spoke loudly through the phone, allowing his voice to reverberate throughout the apartment. Seth ignored his two best friends, beginning with his already exhausted and talked-out problem once again.

"So here are the facts: It's Summer's twenty-first birthday. We haven't talked in twelve days. Since I walked out – or she kicked me out – whichever. Anyway, that dickhead Deven guy is throwing her a birthday party tonight at his apartment -"

"Wait," Nick intervened, "How do you know that?"

"I talked to Lana. She's really helpful with imperative information," Seth informed Nick before turning back to face his phone, "She's a keeper, Ryan."

"Thanks for the tip," Ryan scoffed lightly.

"No problem. So, back to me," Seth continued on. "I don't _think _Summer and I broke up. But then again, I can't be sure. We were both pretty angry. But I still think that me going out there on her birthday would fix things. She's kind of a sucker for those types of romantic gestures."

"That's not a lie," Ryan laughed. "Got a coffee cart lying around somewhere?"

"Coffee cart?" Nick questioned with raised eyebrows.

"Long story. Great story, but long. Don't have time right now to tell it to you, though. Remind me later when I don't have a crisis on my hands. – So, Ryan, you think I should go visit her?"

"I think it's your best bet. Plus, it's better than me trying to fix your problems for once."

"Nick?" Seth turned to his other best friend, asking for conformation.

"I don't know. Is there any possibility she'll get mad?" Nick asked both Seth and Ryan.

"Well, of course there is," Ryan told him pointedly. "That's why it's a risk."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Seth threw his arms in the air, even though Ryan couldn't see. "This plan has a _risk_?"

"Yeah."

"But you said it was a sure bet!"

"I said it was your _best _bet. There's a difference."

"Ryan, buddy, I need a sure thing!" Seth shouted, jumping to his feet. "I can't lose her! Why aren't you helping?!"

"Seth, calm down!" Ryan yelled back. "Jesus, man. Don't have a heart attack."

"I am, Ryan! I am!" Seth gripped his chest in anxiety. "Oh my God, what do heart attacks feel like?"

"Cali-boy, you're not having a heart attack," Nick rolled his eyes.

"Bet I am! They run in my family! I bet me having a heart attack is a sure bet! Not just a risk!" Seth tried to catch his breath.

"Seth!" Ryan yelled. "_Seth_!"

"What?!"

"Go see her! And stop freaking out! She loves you; she didn't just get rid of all of her feelings for you because you two got into another argument."

Seth began to calm down. "You think?"

Ryan grunted as Nick spoke, "Ryan's right, man. Just go see her."

Seth nodded his head slowly at first, then nodding it at a faster pace as his mouth caught up with his mind. "Okay. Okay. Yeah, I'm going to see her. Bye, Ryan. Thanks." Seth shut his phone before Ryan could utter a syllable and he turned back to Nick. "I'm going."

"Good. Good choice," Nick nodded his head.

"Can you just, like, lock the door when you leave?"

"Absolutely, Seth." Seth nodded his head, still standing in the same place. Nick scrunched up his face up in befuddlement. "Why aren't you moving?"

"Umm…" Seth stuttered.

Nick stood up, grabbing Seth's keys and his light-weight jacket, throwing them at him and pushing him out the door. "Go."

"All right. Yeah. Nick?" Seth stopped to turn around and face Nick once again. Nick answered him with his eyebrows raised. "I have no reason to be worried, do I?"

"Summer loves you. Now go tell her that you love her too. Mushy stuff is your forte."

Seth cracked a smile, opening his car door and stepping inside. "I know. And you're right. Thanks."

"It's what I'm here for," Nick replied as Seth laughed, driving his car out of the parking space and towards Interstate 95 West to New York City.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Here's a drink, Summer," John handed Summer her first legal drink. "Enjoy it."

Summer smiled, looking at all the people surrounding her. She only saw a few familiar faces – Matt, Hannah, Mark, and Carly – aside from John and realized that she had never imagined to be celebrating her twenty-first birthday like this. Here she was in a city she had lived in for three months, surrounded by no one that she knew from childhood and not a single member of her family. It was nothing like Seth's birthday party she had arranged the previous December and, at this thought, she found herself frowning into her drink, missing Seth's appearance from the party with each passing second.

Seth and she hadn't talked since the big blowout two weeks prior. She knew she was postponing the inevitable – trying to pretend like it all hadn't happened in the first place – but she knew she had to fix it. They hadn't technically broken up, but she was afraid that if they kept things the way they were going, Seth would move on; that he would simply forget her.

She hated that she and Seth fought over something so ludicrous. She couldn't stand that both she and Seth were playing the same waiting game – waiting for the other to make the appropriate move.

She really missed him. And she really hated that he was missing her twenty-first birthday.

John reappeared with another drink for her in hand, smirking as he gave it to her, "Here's another one. It will _definitely_ help you loosen up for the night."

"I am loose!" Summer stood up for herself, already feeling the effects from the first drink, knowing that her tolerance level was still not built up to par as it had been when she was fifteen.

John laughed hysterically as Summer took the drink from him. "If you say so!"

Summer downed it smiling, but couldn't get the eerie look of excitement across John's face out of her mind.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So it's looking like Summer's having a lot of fun tonight," Mark snickered as he saw Summer lazily holding onto John's arm for support as her eyes drooped shut every now and again.

"Sure looks it," John smirked, wrapping his arm around Summer's waist. "She was downing shot after shot of vodka."

"I thought we didn't have a lot of vodka left," Matt questioned John in something that sounded more like a statement.

"Oh," John replied quickly, laughing nervously, "Yeah, well, she really wanted some so I went out earlier to get some. You know, anything for the birthday girl!"

Matt nodded slowly, still not convinced, "Right…"

"She's looking a little sick," Hannah added in, feeling Summer's flushed face. "Don't you think we should end the party and get her back home?"

John shook his head forcefully, "No, no. Just keep the party going – it's not even midnight – and I'll just take her to the bathroom to empty out her system a bit, and lay her down."

"You sure? We can just take her back," Matt told him, gesturing between himself and Hannah.

"Oh, no, no. It's perfectly fine," John picked Summer up into his arms, beginning to walk through the crowd. "You guys have fun. I got her."

Matt sighed deeply and looked on with Hannah as Mark and Carly turned around looking for a refill for their drinks.

Hannah spoke up, gripping her boyfriend's arm tightly. "I don't know, Matt…"

"Neither do I." Matt looked down at Hannah's face, kissing her nose lightly, losing John and Summer in the crowd. "He won't do anything. He can't."

Matt and Hannah exchanged worried glances knowing that with Summer almost completely intoxicated and John a little tipsy himself, the night's events might prove to be a little more than they all bargained for.

'John wouldn't take advantage of her,' Matt told his worrying mind. 'He wouldn't.'

Matt and Hannah walked off, hand in hand, to find Mark and Carly.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

John stroked Summer's sleeping face, brushing the hair away from her eyes. He knew he probably shouldn't have drugged her; and part of him didn't really think he had done it. Part of him thought that it was just a weird dream he was having and instead was experiencing the best night of his life. Summer was lying on his bed, still dressed in her beautiful dress and fancy high-heeled shoes as slow, shallow breaths made her chest rise and fall.

"You are unbelievably fucking gorgeous," John whispered, leaning in to let his lips graze hers for only a second.

John pulled away, placing his hands on each of her cheeks. He could smell the perfume coming from her delicate skin. He could taste her cherry lip-gloss that was still lingering on his lips. He could see the exposed skin on her thighs that were showing as a result from the dress riding itself as she lay on the bed peacefully and silently.

"Seth never deserved you, Summer," John continued in a whisper, letting his thumbs rub her cheeks, smudging part of her make up. "I don't know why you ever chose him in the first place. He's a geek, Summer. He's a rambling, idiotic geek that could never show you what love's really supposed to be like. I could though. I could show you everything, Summer. Just give me the chance."

John leaned down again, pausing for a moment to admire her lips and feel her hot breath on his. Finally he let his lips touch hers and he massaged them as she continued to lay still. He wanted to intensify the kiss, and without being able to have a reciprocator to help him, he tilted Summer's head upward making her lips part, letting his tongue sneak into her mouth. John searched for her tongue to battle with and realized hers would not react – it would never react.

John jolted out of his daze, pulling back and jumping up from the bed, slightly shouting, "What the hell am I doing?"

John paced around the room a bit and then finding a bottle of tequila that wasn't completely finished, he grabbed it, downing the last third of it in a matter of seconds. It only took a few moments after that when he said, "Oh, fuck it," pouncing on Summer's unresponsive body, letting his hands wander.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seth reached John's apartment, barely putting the car in park before sprinting in the door that was already left open and up the stairs to John's apartment. He didn't bother knocking on John's door – hearing the music blaring he figured no one would hear him anyway – and burst in, his eyes searching frantically for Summer. Instead he spotted Matt and Hannah off in the corner, talking and laughing with a few people he didn't recognize.

"Matt!" Seth screamed, running up to them. "Hannah!"

Both turned their heads at the call of their names and a look of shock appeared on each of their faces.

Matt was the first one to speak. "Seth? What are you doing here? Did Summer call you?"

"No, no," Seth told them out of breath. "But I need to talk to her. Do you know where she is?"

"She was looking really sick earlier so John went to take care of her," Hannah told him as he scoffed.

"I'm sure he did," Seth mumbled under his breath. "Do you know where he took her?"

"I think they're in one of the bedrooms," Matt pointed in the direction of the rooms, then grabbing onto Seth's arm as he turned to make his way over there, "But don't make a huge scene, okay?"

"A huge scene? If John is doing anything than rubbing her back as she pukes into the toilet, I'll kill him."

"He wouldn't do that. I know you don't like him and hell, I don't like him all that much either these days, but he's not like that. He wouldn't take advantage of a girl like that. Especially if she was in a serious relationship with another guy."

"Even if that other guy was me?" Seth glared at Matt. "John hates me, Matt. He _hates_ me. For whatever reason, he just does. I don't know if there's anything he wouldn't do just to spite me."

And with that, Seth tore his arm out of Matt's grip, heading through the crowd over towards the doors at the end of the room.

The only thing Seth didn't notice in his frantic search was that John had poked his head out of the bedroom while Seth and Matt were talking, and now John was standing behind the door, preparing for Seth to bound in and for John to catch him off-guard.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seth reached the different doors and searched through two of the three before finding Summer appearing to be lying unconscious on the bed.

"Summer!" Seth shouted running to her side, trying to wake her. "Oh my God, Summer. Baby, come on, wake up. Summer, I love you, come on – you need to wake up."

"She doesn't love you, Seth."

Seth turned to a cold voice that he knew belonged to John but before he could reply, a blow came to the side of his face and flew him off the bed, backwards against the wall. He then felt a kick to his stomach as he tried to stand up, and there was another punch on his right side of his face before his world went black.


	20. The Unforgivable

**Disclaimer: Who really owns it now?**

**A/N: I got this chapter up before I left. Try thanking me in reviews.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

A splash of cold water ran down Seth's facial features as his eyes fluttered open, trying to distinguish his surroundings. He heard sneer laughter before he noticed his hands were unable to move.

"What the…" Seth muttered as he tried to lift his hands to wipe the remaining water away from his face.

"Hey there, Seth," John's slurred voice echoed quietly in the room as music blared beyond the door. "Glad you finally decided to join us."

Seth's eyes looked away from his hands and, blinking through the water that still fell in his eyes, he saw John up on the bed sitting next to a rather nearly naked and passed out Summer. It was then as Seth tried to pull himself up from his spot on the floor that he discovered the handcuffs that were keeping him at bay.

"Why the fuck do I have handcuffs on me, John?" Seth spat. "Get these off."

"And ruin my entertainment for the night? I don't think so."

Seth grunted, trying to rid the handcuffs himself but noticed that they were wrapped around the four-hundred pound roll-top desk a few times, preventing any movement that Seth's scrawny build would allow him to make.

"Put Summer's clothes back on. She's gonna freeze to death in this air conditioning," Seth told him bitingly, giving up on the handcuffs. "You can torture me all you want but this doesn't have anything to do with her."

"This has _everything_ to do with her," John replied, smirking, letting his hand graze up her bare arm.

"Stop touching her," Seth gritted through his teeth.

John began laughing evilly. "Does that bother you, Seth? Does it bother you to know she might want to be with some other guy?"

"No, it bothers me that you're touching her without her permission."

"I have her permission. She let me throw a party for her. She let me get her drunk."

"That doesn't mean you can take advantage of her like that. You can't just touch her where you please when she's clearly blacked out."

"I can do whatever I want, Seth," John rose from the bed, bowing down to Seth's eye level, glaring. "You can't tell me what I can and can't do and you sure as hell can't tell me that I can't have Summer. Summer doesn't love you anymore. She's gonna love me."

Seth spat in his face, letting the anger rise within him, "You're sick." After that Seth yelled for help at the top of his lungs but only the vibrations from the music answered his call.

John continued laughing, grabbing a towel on the side of the bed to wipe off his face, then returning to his place on the bed. He hovered over Summer's body – who still only clad in a bra and boy shorts – staring at Seth as he leaned down bringing his lips closer and closer to hers.

"Don't you fucking dare," Seth spoke barely above a whisper. "Don't hurt her."

"I'm not hurting her. I'm just showing her everything she's been missing while she's been in a dead-end relationship with you, geek."

John let his lips crash upon Summer's unresponsive ones once again, as Seth screamed at him to stop. John continued assaulting her lips as he let his hands roam the rest of her body, fumbling with the fabric that covered her breasts. Seth could feel himself sweating as the images burned in his memory and he pulled with any given might in him to release himself from the desk. John began moving down on Summer's body, licking her skin as he trailed to her stomach, allowing his hands to massage her still – thankfully – covered breasts. Seth felt tears burn his eyes as he continued staring, unable to make a sound, unable to look away. John looked up greedily at Summer's face and then began leaving slobbery kisses in the valley of her breasts. Seth's cries must have gotten louder as John caught a glance at Seth and snickered, mumbling, "Look at you – crying like a helpless child. You're weak, Seth. You're a weak, spineless loser who never deserved her. She's gonna be mine now. _I_ deserve her."

John returned to kissing her skin in all areas – her arms, neck, torso, and thighs – and Seth's cries echoed within the small room and he collapsed against the desk, giving up on trying to free himself from his held back state.

It wasn't until moments later when Seth's head jolted up as he heard elastic being snapped against delicate skin and he saw John's hand move under Summer's panties, appearing to want more than Summer's exterior being.

Something in Seth snapped as he saw John kissing Summer's skin leading down to her underwear and his hand reaching up between her thighs. He couldn't sit here and watch as some pathetic asshole sexually abused the woman he loved. He would never be able to live with himself and he would never forgive himself for letting this happen. A rush of heat ran through Seth's body as he grunted loudly, pulling away from the desk with all the force within him, letting it collapse to the floor in his burst of anger. He didn't react to the sound but John did, looking up for only a second, until Seth charged towards him, toppling him onto the cold wooden floor. Seth began punching John's face in with all the anger he felt as he saw blood drip from John's nose and lip. He didn't even hear the bedroom door open or Matt and Hannah's cries for Seth to stop until he felt Matt's forceful body pulling him off of a wincing John.

"What the hell is going on?" Matt yelled at Seth.

"You fucking asshole," Seth screamed at John, ignoring Matt. "You ever – _ever_ – lay even a finger on her again I'll kill you! I mean it, I'll _kill_ you!"

"Seth," Hannah spoke from kneeling at John's side, "Calm down."

Seth grunted, still breathing heavily, and pulled him arms away from Matt's grip, going to Summer's side and grabbing the dress that had been thrown to the other corner of the room and putting it back on her. Matt kept on probing both Seth and John with questions but neither would answer. Seth collected Summer's unconscious body up in his arms, holding her delicately, as he looked at Matt and Hannah and then towards John. John looked up, still wincing, and Seth spoke to him more bitingly and coldly than he ever knew his voice could muster up. "You do _not_ deserve her. You don't even deserve to _live_."

With that, Seth walked out the door and through the still crowded apartment, towards the exit. He descended down the steps with Summer's limp body as he walked back to his car, placing Summer in the passenger's seat gently and drove back to her apartment.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seth carried her in quietly, letting silent tears escape his eyes as he brought Summer into the bathroom of her apartment and undressed her back down to her bra and boy shorts. He couldn't stand to see her as this helpless, delicate person who didn't have any control over any possible actions. He grabbed a towel after placing her on the cold, tiled floor and went to the sink to wet it.

Seth didn't know how a person could ever imagine that trying to have a sexual encounter with a person who wasn't even conscious was considered okay. He couldn't fathom it. He didn't understand how the one single person Seth had tried to keep away from Summer the past month and a half could have attempted to rape the beautiful girl lying in front of him.

The images of where John had kissed, licked, and merely even touched Summer's skin were burned through his brain as he washed each area with the damp cloth. Seth didn't know why this had been his first course of action as he entered the apartment with Summer's body hanging lifeless over his shoulders, but it had. At first he thought he was trying to clean Summer off so she wouldn't have any diseases from John. It wasn't until tears continued dripping down his cheek onto the floor surrounding Summer that Seth realized he had only wanted to erase his memory – he wanted to erase the images of each and every place John's fingers and mouth had touched on Summer's body – as if the whole event had not taken place at all.

Suddenly, Seth found his body racking in uncontrolled cries as he curled up against the door, staring at Summer's petite body. How could someone be so cruel to do something like this to her? How could Seth have let it go as far as it had? What would have happened if Ryan and Nick hadn't convinced Seth to come to Manhattan in the first place…?

Seth pulled himself together, noticing the goose bumps forming on Summer's arms and legs, gathering her up in his arms again and bringing her into her bedroom. He laid her down silently and softly, finding one of his own oversized t-shirts lying on the bed already, and pulling it over her head and down around her body. He tucked her under the covers, leaning down to leave a soft kiss on her forehead and to make sure he still heard her steady breathing pattern, before pulling away and walking out of the room.

Just as Seth shut the door of Summer's room behind him, he heard the front door open. At first in defense, Seth kept his hand on Summer's door, as if protecting her from any possible intruders. When he saw Matt and Hannah's worried faces, he let go, walking towards them holding out his right arm.

"Can you get these off for me?" Seth held out his hand to show the dangling piece of metal surrounding his bruised wrist.

At first, neither Matt nor Hannah answered him and instead stood there staring at Seth's wrist. They didn't know what had happened and John had not been too keen on details other than saying that Seth was an overly jealous boyfriend, but Matt knew better. Matt knew Seth enough – through meeting him a few times and through Summer's extensive stories of the boy she loved – that he would never have just hit John if there wasn't something else – something _wrong_ – going on in that bedroom.

Matt knew Seth was not an angry person. He knew that John always wanted what he wanted and went to any extremes to make that happen. He walked into that room seeing Summer lying unconscious on the bed only dressed in underwear and a bra.

Matt knew what he knew and saw what he saw and all signs pointed to John making one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

It didn't matter if John was drunk. It didn't matter that his lips and nose were bleeding and that he was wincing in extreme pain. Matt had slugged John at once after arriving at the conclusion that he attempted to rape Summer.

Hannah had screamed, pulling Matt away, dragging him out of the crowded apartment and back to his own place.

And there they were. Standing in front of a beaten down Seth who wore handcuffs that had gone unnoticed by both of them earlier, with bruises across his wrists and in random spots on his face.

"Guys, _please_," Seth broke the silence. "Please get these off."

Matt snapped out of his own thoughts. "Oh, yeah. Of course."

As Matt worked at Seth's handcuffs, Hannah tried to soothe Seth. "You all right? I mean, you were pretty angry earlier."

"I'm still angry," Seth replied unemotionally then turning to Matt, "Are these things off yet?"

"I'm getting there," Matt answered.

"You sure you don't want to talk about anything? Like what happened exactly or how you got these handcuffs on you in the first place?" Hannah probed.

Seth looked up, causing Matt to lose his grip on the handcuffs and looking up as well. He opened his mouth and then shut it, repeating the same process over again before sighing and asking, "Do you think Summer's okay? She looks really out of it to just have blacked out from drinking too much."

Both Matt and Hannah's hopeful faces to find out what had happened at John's apartment fell but still Hannah replied, as if something new had come into her mind. "She might have been roofied."

"_Roofied_? As in the date rape drug?" Seth asked incredulously. "That fucking bastard!"

"You sure?" Matt intervened Seth's loud rant, questioning his girlfriend. "You think he drugged her?"

"I wouldn't put it past the asshole!" Seth shouted, pacing the room.

"I saw him with a small tube of something earlier. I just thought it was sample of cologne or perfume or something," Hannah whispered to Matt.

"He thinks he's like some God or Moses or something!" Seth ranted to them. "He thinks he can have whatever he wants when he wants it even if he hurts everyone on this Goddamn planet! Even if he hurts the most beautiful, sweetest, _greatest_ girl that never, ever did anything to deserve this." Seth's voice quieted down, cracking as he spoke. "She didn't deserve this."

"I know," Hannah wrapped her arm around Seth's shoulders. "She didn't."

Seth let a few tears slip before he cleared his throat. "Do you think she needs to go to the hospital? Like have tests run on her or anything?"

Hannah shook her head. "No – unfortunately, one of these types of things happened to one of my friends. Summer will be okay in the morning. She won't remember anything."

Seth nodded his head silently and Matt probed his all-thought consuming question once again, "What happened back there, Seth?"

Seth paused for a few minutes and Matt and Hannah hung onto the silence, as if the answers were filled through the air and all they had to do was grab them to form clear sentences.

"I just need these handcuffs taken off," Seth sighed. "They're really starting to rub against my wrists."

Matt nodded solemnly and continued working on the handcuffs as Hannah walked towards the kitchen. "Anybody want any water?"

Matt was able to get the handcuffs off in seconds this time around and Seth slightly smiled in thanks, cupping each wrist and rubbing them for comfort. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"I'm just gonna go stay in Summer's room. Just stay up tonight and make sure she's okay."

"She's gonna be okay, Seth," Hannah told him from the kitchen. "She's a trooper," she added with a little laugh to make the situation lighter.

Seth faintly smiled in reply and headed into the bedroom, calling back, "Night."

Matt and Hannah mumbled their own goodnights back to Seth before turning to each other.

"You think John tried to…" Hannah prodded her boyfriend for the answer she already knew.

"Yeah," Matt answered. "Yeah, I think he did."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seth sighed as he closed Summer's door, taking a look at her as she slept peacefully in her bed. He knew she wouldn't remember anything when she woke up and would probably throw Seth out of the apartment, because as far as she knew, she and Seth were still in an argument.

He didn't know if he even wanted Summer to know anything about the night's events – even if it would probably help him win her back. He didn't want her to know how close she had gotten to being sexually assaulted, or even how far it had already gotten before his anger decided to release itself. Was his relationship with Summer worth the pain in her knowing what had happened?

At the same time though, Seth knew he couldn't keep something monumental like this from her. He knew it would probably kill her ability to be with any guy for quite some time but he couldn't just keep this a secret. This secret could kill her if she tried to go back to John. And Seth definitely wasn't letting her go back to staying in harm's way – to staying with John.

So Seth sighed, knowing that whether he decided to tell her or if he decided not to, their relationship was doomed.

Seth leaned into the rocking chair that sat directly across from Summer's sleeping face and he rocked back and forth to the even breaths of the only girl he ever loved. He kept his eyes wide awake knowing that this might be the last time he was ever permitted to look at her and at the same time, trying to protect her from the world that had allowed the night's horrible events to occur.


	21. The True Believer

**Disclaimer: Note that I'm posting this story on a fanfiction page rather than publishing it. **

**A/N: Sorry that it's been two weeks. I was away for a week and then had so much work to catch up on. And then this site's uploading thing has been a bit funny. But ela05 gave me a head's up on how to cheat the system: Export a random chapter to document manager. Delete all text in the document. Copy-paste in the chapter (if you can't copy-paste, switch it to html mode and do it and then go back to simple mode and make the breaks - it takes longer but it gets the job done.) Save document. Viola, one uploaded chapter without fussing with document manager. So if you're a writer and you want to post - try it! **

**But besides all that, I'm back and this story is nearing its end… :(**

**Only a few more chapters so keep reading and reviewing (please)!** ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summer woke the next morning groggily, unaware of her surroundings. Her body felt heavy and slightly sweaty as she pushed the covers off. She looked up to the clock and saw that the time read 8:47am and before she knew it she was glancing around her room, finding a very familiar figure sleeping awkwardly on her rocking chair.

"Seth…?" Summer whispered to herself as she racked her brain, trying to remember the previous night's happenings.

Summer rubbed her head uneasily as nothing from after her having a few drinks with John came to her. What was Seth doing here? Had something happened to her?

She wasn't in the hospital. And after a quick check over her body, she didn't have any bruises or signs of injury. So Seth hadn't come because of something like that.

Maybe he had just come to apologize and to work everything out. Summer stood up, walking quietly over to Seth, pushing the curls of his hair away from his face. His mouth was slightly ajar and his head tilted to the side, as if leaning on something but in fact not leaning on anything at all.

Summer smiled, feeling truly happy for the first time since she and Seth parted on such bad terms, but the smile began fading just as soon as it came – Summer realizing she still couldn't remember a single event from the night before.

Even when Summer had a lot of alcohol in her system and woke up the next day with a hang over or any like symptom, she'd have at least some form of hazy memories about her alcohol-induced self. This time it seemed like she remembered everything up to one point completely vividly and then suddenly the memories ended and she couldn't recollect anything from then on.

Summer walked away from Seth, questions bogging her mind, and opened her door, sneaking out quietly, seeing Matt at the kitchen counter with a shocked face peering at her.

"Morning," Summer greeted uneasily as she made her way over to Matt.

Matt tried to recover from his nervous reaction to Summer's appearance but Summer knew better. Summer sat down next to Matt as he continued eating his cereal without making direct eye contact at her. She sat there with her hands holding up her head, elbows sitting on the counter, staring at Matt, waiting for him to say anything. She grew tired of waiting after only a few short minutes, also noting Matt's awkward company.

"What happened last night, Matt? And don't say nothing because I can tell from your attempts at trying to completely avoid me that it wasn't nothing."

"I'm not avoiding you," Matt answered still averting her gaze. "I gotta get ready for work. I'll tell them you're sick."

Matt got up from his stool, trying to make a quick exit but Summer grabbed his arm forcing him to turn around and look into her helpless eyes.

"Tell me."

Matt sighed, "It's not my place."

"So something did happen?"

"Yes."

Summer closed her eyes and shook her head, as if to clear her mind for the moment, weary about finding out details she wasn't sure she was ready to find out. "Why is Seth here?"

"I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?"

"No."

"When did he get here?"

"Last night."

"Obviously," Summer grunted, feeling as if Matt was dragging out the inevitable out as long as possible. "I meant at what time."

"Maybe eleven. We were all still at John's." Summer nodded her head, taking this information in and preparing herself for her next question. Her grip was still tight around Matt's forearm and she was looking at him intently.

"What happened last night?"

Matt shook his head trying to pull away from Summer but Summer held on tighter, letting tears fall freely, knowing that something was clearly wrong. "What happened, Matt? Tell me what happened!"

"Summer, calm down," Matt drew Summer into his body, enclosing his arms around her in a hug as she cried. "I don't really know what happened. I really don't."

"Well," Summer choked out through tears, "What do you know?"

Matt withdrew himself, holding onto to Summer's arms making sure to steady her in the very possible case that she wouldn't be able to handle the news well. "You were really drunk. John said he was gonna take you into the bathroom to help you because you looked like you were gonna be sick. Later Seth showed up looking for you pretty frantically and then he just disappeared for awhile. I thought he had found you so I continued drinking and having a good time. After awhile – I don't remember how long so asking me would be pointless – me and Hannah heard a loud thud while we were talking with some friends and we made our way to the room where the sound came from. In there, Seth was punching John and you were lying on the bed in only your underwear." Matt paused as Summer collapsed onto the floor in shock, realizing exactly what he was telling her. "Summer…"

"No, no," Summer swatted Matt's arm away. "Tell me the rest."

"Summer, I don't think -"

Summer cut him off, "Tell me, Matt."

Matt sighed, but regardless, continued. "I stopped Seth from punching John's face in and he just got up without telling us what happened and ended up putting your dress back on and taking you back here. By the time Hannah and I arrived, he had already put you to bed."

"Did he tell you what happened?"

Matt shook his head solemnly, "He wouldn't. But how everything looked – and how Seth was screaming at John about how he was gonna kill him if he ever tried to lay a finger on you again – we kind of gathered our own conclusions."

Summer nodded in response, biting her bottom lip, coming to her own conclusions as well. "Do you think… that, you know… that John…"

"I think he tried, Summer. And I think Seth stopped him."

Summer nodded again wordlessly, getting up from her spot on the floor and retreating into the bathroom. Matt watched as she slowly walked emotionless away from him, wishing he could take away her pain.

"Summer," Matt called out and Summer stopped mid-step, but didn't turn around, "If I had known that John was… gonna… you know… take advantage of you like that I never would have left you alone. You know that right? I wish I could do anything to take back last night and redo everything. I really do. I never wanted anyone to hurt you."

Summer nodded her head, still not speaking or looking back at Matt, and walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

As soon as she was in there, she turned on the water in the bathtub, undressed herself trying to look away from her naked form – as if ashamed of it – and stepped into the hot, running water. She stood there letting the water hit her face for a few moments before she collapsed onto the floor of the bathtub, scrunching her knees to her chest, crying in uncontrollable sobs.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

A cramp in Seth's neck jerked him awake and he quickly processed his surroundings after he found himself seated in an upright position in an unfamiliar rocking chair. As he put pressure with his fingers to his sore neck, he looked around the room letting the memories of the night before flow back into his thoughts. He winced at each image that came to mind and he searched the room with his eyes for any sign of Summer.

It was clear that she had gotten up from her bed as the covers were thrashed about in a manner that was uniquely Summer's and as he rose from the chair, exiting the room and hearing the running water coming from the bathroom, he knew she was showering.

He knew instantly that when she had woken up, she had ignored him. That she had not tried to wake him.

That they were over.

Seth felt like this had made his decision to tell Summer the details of the night before easier – that he wouldn't tell her, instead letting Matt keep her away from John as he knew he inevitably would. He gathered his light-weight jacket from the back of the rocking chair at this profound realization and slinked silently out of the apartment, sighing sadly as he left.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Summer had gathered herself as much as was possible in the shower, she furiously scrubbed her body clean, trying to divest any remembrance from the night before off the exterior of her body. She didn't want to be reminded of it and she didn't want Seth to be reminded of it.

Seth.

Seth had saved her. He had literally, figuratively, _actually _saved her. She had cried also for this, knowing that for the past weeks she knew John, she had stood up for John rather than listening to Seth. Seth always knew what was best for her. Why did she ever try to question it?

Summer knew that Seth was never much of the jealous type. Yeah, here and there he got a little antsy but he had never been like she always had – going to desperate circumstances to make sure he would never leave her. Sure he had all these grand romantic gestures that he did to woo her, but he never tried to go out of his way to wrong some guy only because Summer was friends with him.

Maybe she had reacted so harshly weeks earlier when Seth tried to convince Summer that John wanted more than friendship because she wanted Seth to be jealous. Maybe deep down she caused this herself.

Summer shook her head angrily as she stepped out of the bathtub, trying to force herself to think of other things. There was no way she had caused John to attempt to rape her. Or to drug her in attempt to take advantage of her. Summer still wasn't sure what had exactly happened but she was sure of one thing – Seth had saved her.

Summer put back on her clothes, thinking coming back into her bedroom in only a towel was probably not the most appropriate way to talk to Seth for the first time in nearly two weeks. Her oversized t-shirt fell loosely around her frame and she crossed her hands over her chest and let her hair wet her shirt's shoulders as she made her way back into the bedroom.

She glanced throughout the living room, seeing if Matt was still around and finding that he wasn't, and pushed her door open hoping to reveal Seth. Instead she was met with a cool breeze from her half opened window and a light rock from the chair that sat close to the same window. Summer checked the area – even her closet – thinking for some reason that Seth was hiding. She left the room and searched the entire apartment, including Matt's room, finding no one.

Summer grabbed her cell phone and called Matt first, thinking he might have talked to Seth and told him that Summer needed time to think things through.

"Matt?" Summer talked delicately into the phone, almost as if she were afraid someone was trying to listen to her conversation.

Matt answered back frantically, "Summer? Are you okay?"

"No… I mean, yeah, yeah, I'm fine but umm…" Summer fumbled over her words, trying to hold her tears back, "Did you… umm… did you tell Seth to leave?"

"What? No. I haven't seen him since last night," Matt replied. "He's not there?"

"No," Summer let the tears fall. "I got out of the shower and he was already gone. I want to talk to him, Matt. I _need _to talk to him."

"So you're there alone?" Matt questioned her worriedly. "Okay, okay, I'm gonna come back. I don't want you there alone."

"Matt, I can take care of myself. It's okay."

"No, no. I want someone there with you. Just in case… you know."

Summer started getting a queasy feeling at this mention. The frantic search for Seth had momentarily kept her mind preoccupied as she forgot about "you know."

It was weird how they couldn't mention John's name now. Or what they had thought he had attempted to do. It was like a huge elephant in the room that no one could get rid of.

"I'll seriously be okay, Matt. I just need to find Seth."

"Well, until we find him I'm gonna come back," Matt told her determinedly.

"No. You have to work. But Hannah doesn't have to work on Fridays' right?" Summer asked and received silence, indicating that this was the truth. "Well, I'll just call Hannah to come stay with me."

"All right," Matt sighed, knowing Summer wouldn't back down. "But please lock the door and don't let him in." Summer's stomach leaped again at John's mention once more. "And don't answer his phone calls – because I'm sure once he realizes what he's done he's gonna try to beg for forgiveness."

"Don't worry. Nothing's gonna happen," Summer reassured him. "Thanks, Matt."

"You don't have to thank me," Matt whispered, almost barely audible, before speaking up. "I'm gonna call Hannah right now. Try calling Seth's phone or something. Maybe he just took a walk to clear his head."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye, Summer."

Both hung up at the same time and Summer looked down at her phone wearily, afraid to dial Seth's familiar number. As her thumb grazed the 'Send' button, tears began dripping down her cheeks once again. It was like this automatic action now – or at least in the last ten days that she and Seth hadn't talked – that whenever she thought of Seth she found her face's skin becoming increasingly wet. Half the time she wouldn't even know she had started crying in the first place until someone had pointed it out or a drop of salty tears fell on her other areas of skin. She really missed Seth. She absolutely loved Seth. And if last night's events and Seth's uncharacteristic course of action – punching someone to protect her – didn't prove how much she needed him in her life, she didn't know what else possibly could.

Summer held the phone up to her ear, waiting for the rings, counting each one as they passed. Six went by until she heard Seth's calming voice – "Hey. It's Seth. And if you didn't know that already you should probably hang up now. If the name sounded familiar, then leave something worth replying to."

Summer smiled at Seth's quirky sense of humor through his voice-mailing system and waited for the beep before she began.

"Seth, it's me. First off, I love you. You need to know that. _God_, I hope you know that. And secondly, wherever you are please come back. I didn't want you to leave this morning. I hope you didn't think that. I just… well… I didn't know what had happened, you know? And then Matt told me what he knew and I just got shocked and everything and I took a shower to, like, calm myself or something. Which I'm guessing is when you left seeing as when I got out and came to look for you, you were gone…" Summer paused for a few moments, trying to gather herself and keep her shaky voice from completely breaking. "Cohen, I love you. I love you more than you could ever know. Seriously. And I just want you to come back. Please. _Please_. I need you. Okay? All right. Okay. Just call me. Or come back here. Yeah… bye."

Summer hung up and collapsed into the couch, wishing she was anywhere but there, with Seth as her only companion to enclose his arms around her, lulling her into a true sense of security, telling her that he would always protect her no matter what.

And she would believe him. Always.

No matter what.


	22. The New York Love

**Disclaimer: Not mine, per usual.**

**A/N: This is the last chapter of the story (besides the epilogue which should be posted within the next week). I'm trying to decide what to do for my next story (if you guys want me to write one) – take a break and think of a new storyline or continue with this one with another sequel. I'm leaning towards the latter only because I came up with a decent idea for the next one but I'm wondering what you guys think. So let me know!**

**Read, ENJOY!, and review please! You guys have been so great about reviews lately and I've been so lousy about replying to all of you – I swear I'm trying but school's wrapping up for the year so papers, projects, and finals are kind of taking up all of my time.**

**Still – I appreciate it and couldn't be more thankful!**

**(Oh & P.S. – there's a bit in here towards the end that's a little on the mature side so if you're easily offended, skip that bit.)**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Seth had driven as far as three blocks before he decided he didn't want to leave the city yet. He wasn't sure if he was ready to let things be (he refused to say that he was giving up because in no way could he see how this was something he could give up on), but he wasn't sure he should stay either. So Seth parked his car in a parking garage that charged an outlandish amount of $16.75 an hour near Columbus Circle and ventured out into the well-known Central Park that Summer always loved.

He walked slowly with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his worn out khaki pants, watching the people he crossed paths with, observing them while he was left to his own thoughts. His left hand quickly found his iPod shuffle that was resting in his pocket and Seth grabbed at it, putting the earphones in and the music on. He continued walking at the same pace throughout the vast (well, for New York City at least) park, reading the expressions on everyone's faces and watching their actions intently.

Seth's thoughts crowded his mind as he drifted up and down the paths of pavement.

Never taking notice of the ring of his cell phone coming from his pants' pocket.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Summer!" Hannah knocked loudly on the apartment door. "Hey! Summer! It's me! Hannah!"

Summer groaned as she pulled herself up from the couch and trudged over to the door, opening it to Hannah's bright, smiling face.

"Oh, Summer!" Hannah threw her arms around Summer's shoulders. "How are you doing?"

"Okay," Summer replied, "Except I can't get a hold of Seth. I don't know where he went."

"I'm sure he's fine…"

Summer interrupted her, a little frustrated, "No, I know he's fine. He's always fine. But he isn't here. And I want him here. But I can't get a hold of him to tell him that. I need to get a hold of him, Hannah. Can you help me?"

"Sure," Hannah answered absentmindedly as she made her way to the kitchen. "Do you want anything to eat? Drink?"

"No, Hannah, I need to talk to Seth," Summer pleaded with her.

"Okay, I'll help find him with you. You know I will," Hannah handed Summer some orange juice. "Here, drink this. It will help push everything through your system faster."

Summer scrunched up her face in confusion. "Everything? I haven't had anything to eat at all today."

Hannah's face changed expressions as she quieted down. "I meant about the… umm… drugs."

Summer sighed as she closed her eyes, chuckling ironically. "You know, I know this sounds completely crazy and stupid but I really had forgotten about that for the time being. I was just worrying about Seth. Like, I didn't even think about why he was even here this morning. Like I hadn't been drugged by that _asshole_ last night… stupid, right?"

"It's not stupid, Summer," Hannah consoled. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Summer smiled faintly, as she began walking away. "I'm just gonna go lie down for a bit. Call me if you hear anything, okay?"

Hannah nodded as Summer disappeared back into her room, shutting the door.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

By six at night, Seth still wasn't hungry, thirsty, or tired. He had gotten Summer's message exactly forty-two minutes beforehand and he was sitting on a random bench, watching on awkwardly as people raced around him. He didn't even move a muscle when the first raindrop fell on his khaki-clad thigh, and he stayed in the same position as the few single raindrops turned into thousands.

Seth didn't know what he was doing. He didn't know why deciding to stay in his place on the bench would be his best idea because clearly the New York torrential rains that had suddenly appeared were not stopping on account of him taking a contemplative walk for the afternoon and then taking a casual rest on a park bench.

And the funny thing was – he didn't care.

And with all the people hiding out under the hoods of their coats, scrambling their way through the crowds for a subway entrance, he couldn't hold it in anymore. And he just started laughing.

He stood up and, on the corner of 94th and Central Park West, began laughing his God-damn head off because he just found everything so fucking funny.

He loved this place. Somewhere in between the time he first visited this city when he was four and this moment where he was laughing in the middle of a downpour, he grew to adore this astounding city. Seth liked the fact that there was no other city on Earth where he could dress in anything, as much or as less as he wanted, without being gawked at. He loved the lights streaming down on his face, no matter what hour of the day it was. He cherished the sounds of the subway roaring beneath him and the constant planes flying above him, knowing that everything in the city continued their routines regardless of the ambulances racing down the street carrying someone who could possibly be leaving this world in a matter of minutes. But what he loved the most was that although he was standing there laughing in the middle of what seemed to be the beginning of a monsoon season in Manhattan, he couldn't stop thinking about the person who brought him to love this city so much. The person who had encouraged him to find the natural beauty of a place that held eight million people. The person who showed him what it looked like when the sun rose and fell on the city that never slept and what it meant to truly be a New Yorker – even if this particular person had only been an actual New Yorker for only a few short months. And it was then he realized he wasn't ready to give up on this person.

His person_. His_ Summer.

And so he gradually stopped laughing, realizing the irony that he was laughing at before was slowly becoming lost on him, as these thoughts drifted through his head and he raced down Central Park West and over to 3rd Ave to where Summer's apartment was as fast as his legs would take him.

After a quick run and a few close slips and trips, Seth found himself in front Summer's apartment building, staring up for a second, trying to grasp a reason somewhere in his mind about why he had come here. Why he had caused himself to become so short of breath because he was so consumed with getting here as fast as he could. Before he had any answers, his hand was lifting up pressing the bell for Summer's apartment.

Seth saw a figure appear at the top of the stairway, looking down to see who was at the door, and the person quickly disappeared back into the apartment. Seth suddenly heard a buzz, allowing him inside the building, and he worked his way up the stairs, finding himself without energy after his sprint over.

Hannah, not so surprisingly since he figured she might come by again to check on Summer, swung open the door. "Where have you been?"

"I went walking."

"In the rain?" He nodded. "Why?" He shrugged. "Okay – What's going on, Seth?"

"And then I ran over here. At least ten blocks. And here I am."

Hannah looked at him in amazement. "What? Why?"

"I don't know."

She stared at him incredulously, "You don't know?" He shook his head.

And they stood there for what seemed like minutes; Hannah staring at him curiously and Seth dripping puddles of rainwater onto the hardwood floor.

"Is she in her room?" Seth broke the silence.

"Yeah," Hannah stepped aside as Seth bounded into the apartment, going into Summer's room.

Seth burst open Summer's door and saw Summer staring blankly up at the ceiling, and then, upon noticing Seth's arrival, sat up immediately, staring at him silently.

"Hey," Seth started.

"Hi," Summer replied meekly. Both paused for a few more moments, just staring into each other's eyes that were separated by five feet in distance. "I called you."

"I know. I got your message."

"You're all wet."

"It's raining out."

Summer nodded slowly, without turning around to look out the window for confirmation. "Where were you?"

"Central Park."

"The entire day?"

"Yeah," Seth grinned apprehensively and faintly, shoving his hands further into his pockets. "Someone once told me it was a good place to go to think about things." Summer grinned back, knowing the person he was talking about was her, and felt a small sense of ease come over her body.

Another silence ensued and the short smiles faded quickly, being replaced with the sounds of Summer's quiet cries. Seth looked over to see her crying and he too let a little more than a few tears slip down his cheekbones, onto the collar of his jacket. At seeing this, Summer raced over to Seth's spot in her room, wrapping her arms around him and holding his body tightly against hers. Seth didn't react at all, still keeping his hands glued to the pockets of his pants. Summer let herself fall into uncontrollable sobs and Seth pulled away, reaching his hand for the door.

Summer shrieked, throwing herself against the door to keep it from opening, staring helplessly up at Seth. "No. Don't leave. I need you. And if you leave me right now I don't know what I'd do, Seth. I don't… Just don't leave me."

Seth took a deep breath, "Summer…"

Summer shook her head, making sure she kept her tight grip on the handle as she continued talking, "I love you. So much. And I didn't mean for anything to happen last night. I didn't at all. And I want you to know that I can't live without you. And I don't care about what fight we had or what fights in the future we're eventually gonna have or even about what happened last night. Cause right now, you're here and that's what I want." Summer noticed that Seth still wasn't reacting and after that intense impromptu speech she had completely expected Seth to reciprocate the feelings. When he didn't, a scared look and feeling came across Summer and she found herself worrying about the answer to her next questions, "Why aren't you saying anything? Why won't you hug me or touch me?"

"I don't want to hurt you," Seth whispered, almost inaudible, as he bowed his head. "I don't want you to feel violated."

Summed pulled Seth's neck down, reaching her lips up to his. After a few lingering seconds, Summer intensified the kiss, parting his lips with her tongue as she finally felt him fall to ease with his hands coming to cup her cheeks. Summer sighed with relief as her tongue massaged his, showing her love and comfort she felt from just being there with him. She released her hands from his neck, bringing them to rest on his hands which were still cupping her face. Summer pulled out of the kiss, leaning her forehead against his, keeping her hands still firmly placed on his to keep them from moving. Summer began whispering, "High school never mattered to me after I had you. You've always had this hold on me, Cohen. And the thing is… well, what I'm trying to say… I just… I love you. And you're my hero. And I know that's completely cheesy but really, if you think about it, it's true. I'm not just talking about whatever happened last night either, I mean always. You've just always been there when I've been at my worst. No one's ever done that for me before – not even my dad. You always have. Without me saying it – or even knowing I needed you – you were there. Last night didn't change that. And you're the type of guy every girl wants. You're, like, the prince charming in movies." Seth chuckled disbelievingly at this and rolled his eyes. Summer kept her hands grasped tighter on his, forcing him to continue to listen to her. "No, really. All a girl ever wants is a guy who will go to any limits to protect her. To fight against some fire-breathing dragon or something. Cohen, you did that for me."

Seth interjected Summer, smiling faintly. "It wasn't a fire-breathing dragon."

Summer returned the smile. "Close enough."

There was a pause and a sigh before Seth spoke. "I couldn't watch him hurt you. He handcuffed me to this zillion pound desk but when he started…" Seth trailed before he stopped and closed his eyes. "I just couldn't handle it and I broke the desk and charged at him. I don't even know where the rage came from. I guess I've been hanging around you too much." Seth laughed quietly and Summer did the same. "This is what you do to me. You make this part of my brain that I never knew I had come _alive_."

Summer disconnected their foreheads, smiling as she brought his lips down to hers. Seth didn't object as their loving kisses turned passionate quickly. Summer began stripping Seth out of his wet clothes and guided him to her bed. As she pushed Seth down, she started removing her shirt, but Seth's hands stopped her.

"This doesn't have to happen now," Seth glanced lovingly into her eyes; her soul. "We can just lay together or whatever. I want you to be comfortable with this." Seth's hands gestured between their two bodies. "I don't want you to feel regret or uneasiness because of, you know… last night and all."

Summer let her grin stretch from one side of her face to the other as she held Seth's hands that were holding the bottom of her shirt. "Cohen," Summer breathed lightly, "I took a shower this morning – kind of like a divesting of last night's events that I don't even remember and never want to think about ever again. This is what I want. Actually, I don't think I've wanted anything more in my entire life than to have you here, with me, on my twenty-first birthday. Or the day after my twenty-first birthday. Whichever. Anyway, this is it, Cohen. Trust me."

Seth's eyes glazed over as he stared into Summer's eyes, which were reflecting the same feelings that were welling up inside his own body. He removed his hands from Summer's to let her continue removing her shirt and he sat up, wrapping his arms around her waist, kissing her stomach in short, sweet pecks. Summer wrapped her arms around Seth's neck as he lavished her stomach with love, letting her head tilt back in pleasure. She could feel her body's temperature rising with each kiss and Summer held in the moan that had been threatening to come out.

Seth pulled Summer's body down on top of his, kissing every bare area of skin he could find, as Summer worked to take off both of their pants. Seth seemed to be in a fit of ecstasy all on his own and it wasn't until Summer pulled Seth's head away from her body that he looked questioningly up into her eyes. Summer grasped onto Seth's broad, bare shoulders as she flipped their bodies around on the bed, messing up the neatness of the sheets even more. Seth stared expectantly at her and Summer smiled, feeling the intense and satisfying amount of love between their exposed bodies. Summer leaned her head up and Seth's leaned down and she caught his lips with her own. Seth's hands removed themselves from Summer's waist as he moved them to her neck, using his strong thumbs to tilt her head up only slightly. He pulled away briefly, staring back into Summer's brown orbs and whispered, "Happy birthday, love," before he began to move slowly inside of her.

Summer ached in want, wrapping her arms around his torso, bringing him against her body. Seth left kisses everywhere on her skin as Summer reveled in the love that was almost lost and the future that was still left unforetold.

"Seth," Summer sighed in pleasure after minutes of blissful silence.

Seth only grunted as he continued moving on top of her.

"Seth," Summer began whispering again, watching as Seth still caressed her skin with his lips, "I love you more today than I ever have before."

As soon as those loving words left Summer's mouth, both of them reached their climaxes together and Seth's face, damp from sweat, fell on her chest, listening to her rapid heartbeat. After a few moments of heavy breathing from the both of them, Seth replied to Summer's last spoken comment; "That wasn't just the sex talking, right?"

Summer, who was slowly coming down from her natural high, lightly swatted Seth's head full of curls. "No!"

"Just checking." Seth smiled goofily up at her. "Because I wanted to tell you the same thing."

Summer's hands, which had now found a comfy place in the midst of Seth's curls, reached around his neck, pulling him towards her. Just as they were about to connect their lips once again, Summer smiled, whispering, "Thank you."

Seth collided his lips with hers, showing her with all that was within him just how much she'd always mean to him.

And how far he'd press the limits to go to protect her from anything that could harm her ever again.


	23. The Comforting Arms

**Disclaimer: Last time in this story that I have to say it's not mine.**

**A/N: This is the epilogue. I've also decided I'm gonna do another sequel – or whatever they call three-part stories. It's just I have an idea for it and I've already started writing it because I've gotten so excited about it and yeah… that's what I'm gonna go with. Hope you all are happy with that decision.**

_**Although**_** – I probably won't start posting it until after May 11****th**** (that's when my finals end) so just bare with me until then.**

**Here's the last chapter of "In Your Arms!" I sincerely thank all of my reviewers – you all have been amazing, especially in the last five or six chapters, and I can't thank you enough.**

**Hope you all enjoy it! Read & review!!**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Once September 5th arrived, Summer could not be more thrilled to move back to Providence. She had spent the past three weeks being shielded by Matt's watch, making sure John wouldn't come close to her (which he inevitably had tried) and spending the weekends back in Providence with Seth, who was also keeping a close watch on her. Even though Summer loved New York and wanted to return to live there someday in the future, she knew that she needed to be far away from anything that could hurt her and at that present time in her life, John Deven was the only thing in New York that could hurt her.

Seth couldn't count the amount of times he had gotten so angry remembering the horrific events of Summer's birthday and got in his car, aiming to drive to New York to show John exactly what he thought of him. Each and every time he did so, he heard a voice ringing in his head – Summer's voice – telling him that it wasn't worth it. That if he ever did do something drastic or really hurt John out of pure anger, he might not be around for her anymore and instead locked up in some three by four jail cell. And as he thought of this, he'd end up getting off at the next exit on Interstate 95, turning his car back around to fulfill his daily duties in Providence.

Matt, Hannah, Mark, and Carly all despised John for what he had done and refused to even let him give them an explanation. They had all agreed that it was an unforgivable act; something that could not be forgotten. Matt had personally delivered John this message a few days after Summer's birthday when he had shown up at his apartment, not saying a word and then punching him and kicking him in the groin. John had doubled over in immense pain and Matt had uttered words of disgust before leaving the apartment and telling him never to get in contact with him, Hannah, Mark, Carly, or especially Seth or Summer and that if he even tried – just once – he'd go to the cops.

John Deven tried to contact Summer discreetly three days later. Seth found out. Seth told Matt in an angry rage, trying to figure out how to keep him away from Summer. Matt called the cops.

"Karma's a bitch," Matt told John when he called him to let him know the cops were coming to question him.

Summer had been upset at first, not wanting to deal with outside authorities, but since she didn't remember much due to being roofied, she didn't have to answer too many probing questions. Instead, Seth and Matt took the constant questioning and did so in stride, keeping Summer from having to deal with it. Both Seth and Matt hadn't wanted to deal with it either but they both knew it was best for Summer and for any other female that John could try to hurt in the future if he wasn't already stopped. It didn't take longer than two weeks for John to be put on probation with two hundred hours of community service to be completed and a permanent restraining order to be put in force to keep Summer and Seth forever safe from him.

Summer moved back into the Providence apartment with help from Seth and Matt. Seth couldn't remember the last time he had seen Summer look so happy and he felt himself reflecting the same feelings and expressions written across his girlfriend's face.

"_Well," Seth beamed as she walked through the door of their apartment for the first time in over a month, "How's the place look? Did I keep it up-to-par?"_

_Summer swirled around in her flowered sundress, lifting her sunglasses to see her boyfriend clearly. "Minus the smell of old take-out and dirty socks, I love it."_

"_Aw," Seth scrunched up his face, "I really tried hard with that stuff."_

"_Baby," Summer cooed, reaching for Seth's body, "It's okay. I'm back here now. I can fix it all up to how it was before I left."_

"_You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that."_

_Summer laughed, wrapping her arms around Seth's neck, leaning into his lanky build. "I'm glad this summer didn't ruin us, Cohen."_

"_Me too."_

"_Guess that means you're stuck with me forever."_

_Seth smirked, lowering his face so he could leave a light kiss on her head, "You know, I think I might be able to handle that."_

"_You sure?" Summer flirted. "Forever's a long time. Lots of rage blackouts and petty fights about nothing important…"_

"_Summer," Seth pulled away, keeping a hold of Summer's shoulders at an arms' distance, "You are the __**only**__ person I would look forward to experiencing rage black outs from and dueling in petty arguments that have nothing to do with anything for a billion years to come. Forever has nothing on me."_

_Summer stepped on her tip-toes to reach Seth's lips, whispering before leaning in for another soft kiss that she loved the most, "Me neither, baby."_

_Seth closed the millimeter gap, overlapping his mouth with hers, enjoying the reunion moment in their apartment before Matt had stumbled in carrying a couple of very heavy suitcases._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seth and Summer had already been settled back into the apartment for a couple of weeks and spent most of the time getting reacquainted with their old routines that they had found so familiar before Summer had left for the New York. It didn't take long, of course, for everything unforgivable from the summer to be ancient history and everything memorable from their year spent together in Providence to be remembered.

Matt had come back to Providence like originally planned to finish out his college career at Brown and, additionally, he invited Hannah to come back and live with him. Hannah had quickly agreed, wanting to keep her relationship with Matt working sans-long distance, and decided to change her graduate school plans to ones that included Brown University. (She had finished her undergraduate work already from Columbia University in New York that previous May and was supposed to attend graduate school at New York University.)

It was to the delight of Summer, and Seth alike, to have two new friends in the Rhode Island area. It also delighted Summer that they all could double date and it didn't take long for Summer to set up a date and a time to begin the double dating.

On of one the Thursday nights at the end of that September, Matt and Hannah were slated to come over to Seth and Summer's apartment to enjoy a cooked meal by Summer and some desert bought by Seth. (Seth wasn't much of a cook – a trait he had probably inherited from his mother.) Summer was excited but she was experiencing a lot of difficulty in completing the necessary instructions for making chicken parmesan.

Summer stood at the stovetop wearing her newly-bought decorative apron, stirring the spaghetti in the pot as the water boiled and flung unwanted droplets out of its rims.

"Ah!" Summer screamed as a few of the droplets touched her skin. "Damn it!"

"Sum…?" Seth questioned hesitantly from the bedroom.

"Everything is fine!" Summer shouted back in reply, trying to clean up the apparent mess she made from her shock, opening and slamming cupboards in her wake.

Seth muttered to himself as he approached the kitchen, "Right. That's comforting with all the noise of banging cabinets."

Summer stood in the kitchen looking helpless, holding the wooden spoon in one hand and placing her other hand on her hip facing Seth as he entered the messy area. "I can't cook, Seth. I can't cook, bake, or barbeque. I suck at being a housewife."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing you're in college working on getting a degree," Seth snickered.

"Cohen, I was being serious."

Seth reached over Summer's body to the pot and looked in. "So was I."

Summer huffed and turned back around, pushing herself in front of Seth to begin stirring again. Seth laughed as he stood back, and then grabbed Summer's stirring hand gently, speaking quietly, "Here. Let me help you."

Summer looked over her shoulder to Seth's lingering face, kissing his lips lightly. "Thanks."

Seth smiled as he held his grip on Summer's hand, stirring the spaghetti at a steady pace. Seth then began leaving a trail of light kisses on Summer's bare neck. Summer sighed softly, letting her head lull back and her grip on the spoon loosen.

"Summer," Seth spoke as he pulled back, "Matt and Hannah are gonna be here soon."

"So?" Summer replied, still keeping the back of her head balancing on Seth's chest and her eyes closed. "Why did you stop?"

Seth chuckled, reaching over to turn the stove off, then picking Summer up from the waist. "Well, in that case…"

Summer squealed happily as Seth picked her up in his arms, realizing she wasn't scared at all. She would never feel more safe or protected in anyone else's arms as she felt in Seth's. She could sling onto him for everything and know that he would do anything humanly possible to protect her. He always had. He always would. Summer eased into Seth's touch, letting her lips guide their familiar way to his.

Seth had noticed Summer's new attitude towards him in the past month. It wasn't a bad change – in fact it was quite the opposite. Summer's increased dependence on him made his self-confidence fly. He felt stronger simply by Summer's secure lock around his neck and sometimes he felt shivers crawl up his spine when he realized he was this person for her. He really was her Prince Charming. He really was the person he had dreamed of being for her since he was ten. It was set, it was finalized, and Seth refused to ever let it change.

"Cohen," Summer giggled as he dropped her gently onto the couch, "You're so adorable."

"Adorable?" Seth wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "Come on, you can do better than that."

"Cute?" Summer tried again as Seth groaned. "Sweet?" Seth picked himself off of Summer, trying to move away from the couch but Summer pulled him back. "Hott. Sexy. Strong. Smart. Satisfying. _Mind-blowing_."

"Are those words describing me in bed?" Seth smirked, returning to his place over Summer's petite body.

"Something like that," Summer giggled bringing Seth's lips to her own. Seth continued mumbling into Summer's mouth as her giggles intensified.

Outside of the apartment, Matt and Hannah stood in front of the door, glancing at each other as they heard each new giggle or laugh they knew was coming from Seth and Summer.

"I don't think dinner's ready," Matt interrupted his and Hannah's silent listening.

Hannah laughed lightly. "You think?"

Another, louder, eruption of giggles that came from inside the apartment reached their ears before either Matt or Hannah could utter another word. Matt looked from the door and back at his girlfriend. "Wanna take a drive?"

"Yeah," Hannah smiled, gathering Matt's hand in her own. "They deserve a little time to themselves."

Matt and Hannah walked themselves back to their car, still hearing the distinct giggles from Summer and the loud, gasping laughs from Seth as they stepped in.

"I hope they know how loud they're being," Matt uttered under his breath.

"I'm sure they don't care," Hannah, laughed, shutting her door. "And they shouldn't. They deserve to be in each other's arms when they want to be. Especially everything that they've gone through. And if they want to when we're about to have dinner – I'm not gonna complain. Are you?"

"Nope," Matt laughed again. "But really, that's gonna be embarrassing tomorrow morning when they find out that all their neighbors heard them having sex."

"Matt!" Hannah slapped him as they drove off, leaving Seth and Summer to be in each other's arms once again.


End file.
